The first time you set your eyes on the daVinci S Robotic Surgical System, you are not sure what it is. Is it an oversized video game? A carnival attraction? A small hybrid car?
The daVinci S is none of these. It is one of the most technologically advanced pieces of surgical equipment available today. Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, where the Robotic Surgery Center uses the device for a multitude of medical purposes, organized a demonstration of the apparatus during the morning commute at the Secaucus Junction train station on December 5.
Promoting the idea that people in the area should “commute to work, not to surgery”, the daVinci S demonstration was part of an effort by the hospital to spread the message that while many in the train station have to go to New York for work, they don’t have to cross the river for superior medical care.
Robotics to the rescue
Intuitive Surgical is a Sunnyvale, California firm that developed the technology that is behind the daVinci S. Mike Tropea, the clinical sales manager for the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area, explained how the robotic surgical tool arrived from the Silicon Valley to surgical theaters around the country.
“The daVinci S Robotic Surgical System came out of a research grant established by the U.S. government and Stanford University to determine a way to do remote battlefield surgery,” he said. “The idea was to have surgeons not so close to the battlefield in order to preserve their skills, but still provide the best care possible.”
Researchers soon realized that this first goal was not quite yet achievable. However, another use for the technology being developed was soon discovered.
“Surgeons make incisions for two reasons: to get their eyes and their hands inside the patient,” he said. “Typically, the implements held at the end of surgeon’s hand are very small. What we’ve done is create a long-shafted instrument that you can manipulate with your thumbs and forefingers that increase the flexibility of surgical instruments, and therefore increase surgeons’ dexterity and ability to perform complex surgery. These improvements allow for far smaller incisions for patients and faster recovery times so that people can quickly get back to normal life. The incisions can be as small as the size of a dime.”
The daVinci S also comes with a tiny camera attached to the end of it that allows for 3-D vision of the operating field, a critical factor for surgeons who need to have as much depth perception as possible during operations. The ends also have full range of motion, moving in any and all directions that a human hand can.
Surgeon declares device technology triumph
While the original models of the daVinci S were introduced in 1999, the most current model has only been around since January 2006. It has been used to perform many complex surgeries such as cardiac bypasses, hysterectomies, prostate cancer surgeries and more.
Dr. Domenico Savatta, 35, is the head of the urology division at Newark Beth Israel. He discussed what the introduction of the daVinci S into his surgical instrument repertoire has meant to him.
“I used to do a lot of open surgery operations,” he said. “Once I learned how to use the robot, I became able to do most of my big operations, including prostate cancer operations, in a way that is minimally invasive. With smaller incisions, there is a lot less pain for patients, as well as a quicker recovery. “
The daVinci S does not come cheap. The cost for one robotic surgical system is approximately $1.7 million. However, Dr. Savatta firmly believes that it is worth every red cent.
“I come from the video game age,” he said. “Comparing it to a video game kind of lessens what you are trying to do, but the feel of it is very satisfying. It’s fun for me to use it. When you get good at it, it’s so easy to use. You can use it to do operations that you wouldn’t be able to do any other way. Recently, we were working on a lady who had a kidney tumor almost a foot long. We did it all with the robotic system. When you do something that would otherwise be impossible without the technology, you feel the satisfaction of giving the patient a better potential outcome that you could without the robot.”
Not far from the Secaucus Junction train station, Secaucus chiropractor Dr. Robert Berckes also noted how technology continues to change the practice of medicine.
“I use ultrasound technology and electric muscle stimulation devices in my work,” he said. “In the last ten years, these components have become a lot more technologically advanced. I can now work twice as efficiently within a shorter time frame and achieve much better results. I can definitely see how robotic technology can also achieve better results.”
“It’s fun for me to use it.” – Dr. Domenico Savatta