Robotic Surgery:Overhyped and Sometimes Dangerous

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have raised serious concerns about the trend of robotic surgery in hospitals.Sifting through news reports and court records,they pieced together a disturbing picture of a technology that has gone somewhat wild-sometimes with fatal consequences.Harmful events were vastly under-reported.*
The New York Times added that medical device expert Diana Zuckerman also questioned the trend of adopting the costly technique,which is known as Da Vinci surgery and sold by Intuitive Surgical of California's Silicon Valley.Little is known of the real disadvantages of the equipment,according to Zuckerman,and the injuries and deaths it may cause,even as it is widely marketed to consumers.*
Between January 2000 and June 2012,the FDA received thousands of reports of errors made by the equipment.Some of these resulted in injuries or deaths.A total of 71 people died and 174 were injured just in the reported incidents.It is believed that an untold number of other cases were never reported by hospitals.
Principal author of the study Dr.Martin A. Makary,associate professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine,said the whole issue is symbolic of a larger problem in American health care,which is a lack of proper evaluation of what we do.We adopt expensive technologies,but we don't know what we're getting for our money-if it's of good value or harmful.In health care,one fifth of the economy,we have this haphazard smattering of reports that relies on voluntary self-reporting with no oversight,no enforcement and no consequences.
Years of data tell us that for many procedures,there's no benefit to the patient over standard minimally invasive surgeries.While the robotic provides a benefit in some operations,most uses are for procedures where there are no advantages and there may be potential risks,Dr.Makary noted.*
The problem seems to be a combination of system faults and inadequate training of surgeons,in the context of heavy promotion of the devices and pressure to use them within hospitals,coupled with lax oversight.The upshot is,be cautious when this type of surgery is recommended to you.Carefully consider the downside of the lack of a surgeon's skilled hands touching your body,of the lack of all  the surgeon's five senses being used to carry out your operation,plus his or her level of training and experience with the technology.*
Intuitive Surgical(ISRG)
Labels:Johns Hopkins Universty,Intuitive Surgical,Da Vinci  surgery,robotic surgery,Food and Drug Administration,Silicon Valley