Once confined to the realm of science fiction, robotic remote surgery has crossed the threshold into reality, transforming the way surgeons operate and patients receive care worldwide.
What began as visionary experiments in telepresence during the 1980s, with teams like those at Stanford Research Institute pioneering dexterous manipulators for microsurgery, has evolved into a sophisticated field where a surgeon in a Florida medical center can perform delicate operations on patients a continent away, in Angola, Africa.
The procedure was conducted as part of a clinical trial approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), marking a groundbreaking advancement in remote surgical technology.
Vipul Patel, the medical director of the Global Robotic Institute at Orlando’s Advent Health, recently performed a prostatectomy, which removes part or all of the prostate, on Fernando da Silva of Angola, ABC News reported in an exclusive story from medical correspondent Dr. Darien Sutton on Tuesday.Da Silva, 67, was diagnosed with prostate cancer in March, and in June, Patel cut out the cancer using transcontinental robotic telesurgery. The surgery was a success, according to ABC News.Prostate cancer is very prevalent in Africa, Patel told the network, adding, “In the past, they really haven’t monitored it well or they haven’t had treatments.”
Dr. Patel and his team had spent two years preparing for the operation, traveling globally to identify the right technologies and develop robust contingency plans. This technique has numerous possible applications in the U.S., including the potential use in ambulances to initiate life-saving operations before arriving at hospitals.
While surgeons are often near the patient they are operating on, Patel and his team were eager to test whether the surgery could be done long distance using fiber optic cables.”I think the humanitarian implications are enormous,” Patel said. “Internationally, obviously, there’s so many underserved areas of the world.”Patel also pointed out that rural areas within the U.S. could benefit by helping surgeons learn new procedures from a distance or helping patients from a distance if complications arise during surgery.”Emergency room physicians will have technology that can be remotely accessible to surgeons, maybe even in the ambulance, where people can get remote interventions if they can’t make it to the hospital,” Patel said.
Robotic surgery techniques are rapidly evolving. Interestingly, recent studies suggest that robotic-assisted surgery enhances patient outcomes, shortens hospital stays, and reduces surgeon fatigue.
Emerging trials indicate that robotic-assisted surgery improves patient outcomes, reduces hospitalization length and decreases surgical fatigue. Here’s a deeper look into the pros of robotic surgery:
1. Improved patient outcomes: Robotic-assisted surgery reduces both intraoperative and postoperative complications.For example, data from 18 randomized controlled trials shows that compared to open radical prostatectomy, robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy yields fewer biochemical recurrences and short-term improvements in quality of recovery and pain (up to six weeks postoperatively).2. Reduced hospitalization: Robotic surgery often leads to shorter hospital stays than traditional open surgery. This extends to reduced hospitalization costs.A trial involving 29 surgeons across nine UK hospitals found that patients who received robot-assisted surgery stayed in the hospital for an average of eight days—two days fewer than traditional open surgery. The study also indicated that robotic-assisted surgery achieved a 52% reduction in readmission rates.3. Decreased surgical fatigue: Fatigue closely correlates with surgical errors.Robotic surgical systems help reduce fatigue among surgeons through ergonomic enhancements, minimal instrument movement restrictions, comfortable seating and stable visualization.
Powered by advances in robotics, real-time imaging, and high-speed networks like 5G, remote robotic surgery has the potential to enable world-class expertise to be delivered instantaneously, marking a paradigm shift in medicine and opening new possibilities for treatments to people — even in the remotest corners of the the world.
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