New
York Times: Surgeons face a number of difficulties when
they carry out gallbladder or prostate surgery. For one thing,
the operations require numerous delicate incisions, and the
surgeons frequently end up with back problems from leaning over
their patients for hours on end. Over the past 10 years,
robotic arms that a surgeon can control using a joystick and a
television screen have become increasingly popular. Not only do
they require smaller incisions, not much larger than a keyhole,
but also fewer of them. That could lead to faster recovery,
said
Michael Hsieh, a Stanford
University professor and urologist, to the
New York Times. "There's only one wound to heal with
this procedure, rather than three." But robotic systems cost
much more than traditional equipment, and whether the
technology is worth the extra money remains to be seen.
