HCA Aventura Hospital Robot Exhibition
- Jorge Herrera
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
By: Jorge Herrera & Andrew Magram
Leonardo Da Vinci was an Italian artist, scientist and engineer, he advanced the field of science in his time. 500 years after his death, we have a new Da Vinci paving the way in medicinal sciences. The Da Vinci robot, used for surgeries, assists in both the actual procedure and the post-surgery stitching. Da Vinci has three parts, the patient cart, where the patient lies during the surgery, the console, where the doctor controls the robot from, and the vision cart, where there is a screen so that the other operating staff can see how the surgery is going. An interview for Intuitive Corp. revealed that the robot was made for better outcomes in safety and higher efficiency in surgery.
In order to collect more information on how the robot works, and if it’s actually fulfilling its purpose, we interviewed three doctors to ask them how their experiences with the robot were positive, negative, or if it was the same as doing it themselves. Dr. Evander Meneses, a hernia, gallbladder, intestinal and appendix surgeon, uses the robot on a daily basis. He said that the robot was more “ergonomic” and that he felt more in control of the surgery since he was able to use more of his wrist during his surgeries. He also says that his patients have better outcomes in recovery, and that their stay time in the hospital is highly reduced. The robots are more precise as well in his opinion, since they make shallow cuts, have better zoom, and this allows for more vision of critical areas that he does not want to damage. The robot has also helped him seal the open wounds. In his area, since most of his operations are done on the torso, he says that this robot has helped him immensely.
Dr. Dan Donato, a gynecological and oncological surgeon, has said that Da Vinci has revolutionized patient comfort in the surgical field. Before the robot, patients had a higher risk of losing higher amounts of blood during the procedure, and having to stay longer in the hospital, this directly led to patients having to use up all their sick days from their workplace. Da Vinci drastically reduced these risks and times. Dr. Donato works with one of the most fragile parts of the body, and he says that this robot is better due to its more delicate touch. However, he and Da Vinci didn’t always mix. When the robot was first introduced, 24 years ago, in 2001, he was extremely skeptical of it, he believed that doing it by hand was better. He was also hesitant to use it at first, due to the learning curve that it presented. He says that his first 100 surgeries with the robot, he was afraid of doing damage to a patient. Yet since he started using it in 2008, he has not regretted it at all, since his patients have exponentially more comfortable post-procedure feelings, and he feels safer using it.
Is the robot worth the price though? Dr. Kahane, who uses the robot frequently, says that the experience as the surgeon feels safer, and that the machine’s preciseness and magnification ensures accuracy. He feels as if the cost of 2.2 million paid off already.
COO, Carolyn Hunter, who is in charge of everything that goes on in the surgical branch of the hospital, feels the same way, despite her not being a doctor and not operating on any patients, she says that it is definitely more efficient and the quality of operations has also increased. The robot is mainly used in the general, gynecological, oncological, urological, and bariatric surgeries. In all of these surgeries the outcomes have been highly improved. Also, HCA Hospitals have a special contract with Intuitive Corp.– making robots cheaper for them.
Overall, these robots have been proven by professionals to be highly effective. After trying them out for ourselves, we see that what all the doctors had said was true. While trying it out, I felt comfortable moving the pieces that were being asked of me. I felt that the movement was smooth, and that the robot was also guiding me to make the best decisions. To conclude, this robot is a pinnacle of innovation in the medical field, and if you want safe surgery, with a smooth recovery, we recommend HCA Aventura Hospital.
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