Wall
Street Journal: Surgeries in which a doctor performs a
minimally invasive, or "
laparoscopic,"
procedure using robot-controlled tools may not provide any
significant benefit to patients compared with simpler,
nonrobotic alternatives. Jason Wright of Columbia University
led an examination of more than 250 000 records of
hysterectomies
for noncancerous conditions at US hospitals from 2007 to 2010.
The researchers found that for the number of patients who
stayed in the hospital for more than two days, 20% had had the
robot-assisted procedure compared with 25% who had had the
traditional laparoscopic one. The complication rate for both
groups remained at 5%. However, the average cost for the
robotic procedure was $8868, compared with $6679 for the
nonrobotic. Myriam Curet of Intuitive Surgical, which
manufactures the da Vinci Surgical Systems used in robotic
surgeries, says that the robotic surgical tool was not
developed to compete with laparoscopic surgery but to allow
more such surgeries to take place, especially in the event of
complications, such as the patient being overweight or having
an especially large uterus. Wright says that doctors need to
more fully discuss the options for surgeries with their
patients, so that the right balance of cost and suitability of
procedure can be maintained.
