Running head: THE DOS AND DO NOTS OF ROBOTIC SURGERY 1

The Dos and Do Nots of Robotic Surgery

Felisha Loggins

ENG 1313-05, Writing in a Digital World

March 28, 2017

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The Dos and Do Nots of Robotic Surgery

Over the past decade technology as all know it has expanded. It has went from high tech

touch screen computers and laptops, electrical cars, all the way to robotic surgeons. Even though

these inventions are spectacular ideas are they the safest? People today are geniuses but, are they

weighing out the pros versus the cons, instead of the financial benefits of the inventions.

Surgical Robotics ae not the best and safest thing for surgery, the world should stop focusing on

the worth of a product and rather focus on the safety.

After doing research, some findings that were found is that back in January the first to

use a surgical robot to operate on a patient with retinal vein occlusion was University Hospitals

Leuven. According to Leuven (2017) state that the operation was the first success one. Retinal

Vein Occlusion is a disorder that possibly leads to blindness. The University is starting to study

retinal vein cannulation (RVC). Retinal vein cannulation is basically a treatment that fixes the

cause of retinal vein occlusion by taking the blood clot out of the vein.

Moreover the only setback for this surgery is that the vein is as small as a piece of hair

and a surgeon doesnt have the ability to inject a needle into it manually. This is why

researchers from the KU Leuven Department of Mechanical Engineering developed a robotic

device that enables the surgeon to insert the needle into the veins in a very precise and stable

way. Once the needle is inserted, the robot can hold it perfectly still (Leuven 2017). Most

surgical robots require a remote or something to control it, there is no need for a remote to

operate the device. The eye surgeon and the robot work together to work the patient. The

surgeon guides the needle into the vein while the robot eliminates any vibration of the needle,
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thereby increasing the level of precision more than tenfold. After locking the robot, the needle

and the eye are automatically stabilized. The surgeon can then inject the product into the vein in

a controlled and still way. After the procedure being done on a patient on January 2017, Leuven

(2017) calculated that, the patient is doing well and can now start working on the rehabilitation

of the eye. In a subsequent phase 2 trial the physicians will study the clinical effects of the

procedure. This was a very successful procedure but, will it always be?

Furthermore, robotic surgery sounds like a very awesome idea but it is not always the

safest. Will each surgery always be successful like the retina surgery? Is the robot able to be

trusted not to have an unplanned malfunction? Just like all technology today things can happen at

any time such as, a phone just getting really hot and turning off and not turning back on. Think

about this, there was a big surgery to get done such as brain surgery and the Dr. suggest getting a

robotic surgeon to do it? How do you feel? What do you say because you know with one wrong

move you are gone! Stewart Pinkerton said that, There have been widely publicized horror

stories, including patients who have bled out after a robotic instrument inadvertently nicked a

blood vessel or those who have been injured in other ways, such as accidental punctures, tears or

burns. With this being said Robotic surgery is not always the best solution. For surgeons it is

best because that way they don't have to bend over an operating table; they can sit in front of a

screen with a magnified, full-color 3-D view of the surgical field. So is this invention really in

the best interest of the patient?

Even though Robotic surgery has some advantages there is also some down falls

associated with it. There as a surgery back in 2010 where a high school teacher needed to have

his prostate removed. Studies have shared that when Mr. Gonzales awoke, he had no feeling in

his shoulders and arms. (Howard, December 2013). Elliott is one of more than a million people
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in the U.S. who have undergone robotic surgery since it was introduced in the 1990s. He is also

one of a growing number of casualties. The hospitals are so excited because it would make lots

of cash, but the surgeons performing the surgeries are concerned because of the amount of

causalities that have been associated with it.

Robotic surgery may not be living up to the things promised. Surgeons at John Hopkins

Hospital stated that "Years of data tell us that for many procedures, there's no benefit to the

patient over standard minimally invasive surgeries. The hospitals are still trying to uses robotic

surgeons but it is not a safe and convenient as it seems. Howard (2013-14) also had stated that

While the robot provides a benefit in some operations, most uses are for procedures where there

are no advantages and there may be potential risks." The news reports how one surgery was a

success but then leaves out the previous and current disadvantages of the robots. Yes Robotic

surgery will bring more money to the hospitals and also the government but, it is also very costly

to the patients and neither is it one hundred percent efficient and safe.
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References

Howard,B. (Dec.2013-Jan.2014). Hospitals tout the benefits, but doctors are concerned about the

number of casualties. AARP the magazine. Retrieved

http://www.aarp.org/health/conditions-treatments/info-12-2013/robotic-surgery-risks-

benefits.html

Leuven, K. (Jan .2017). World first: surgical robot performs precision-injection in patient with

retinal vein occlusion. Ku Leuven news. Retrieved from

https://www.kuleuven.be/english/news/2017/surgical-eye-robot-performs-precision-

injection-in-patient-with-retinal-vein-occlusion

Pinkerton S. (Nov 17,2013).The pros and cons of robotic surgery. The wall street journal.

Retrieved from

https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304655104579163430371597334
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