Robot surgery

Times Online : Last year John Gurney was told he had prostate cancer .His specialist suggested a wait-and-watch approach. But at the age of 67, and with the prospect of having to live with the disease for years, Gurney decided that the uncertainty was going to be less bearable than surgery. “Everyone I had met said it wasn’t going to kill me till I was 80, but if you are waiting around like that you want to do something. I had to get on the robot."The robot in question is the $2 million da Vinci Surgical System , and one Monday a few weeks back, John Gurney got on it—or more precisely was maneuvered under it.Urologist surgeon’s who use robots are finding that up to 50% of their surgeries are now with the device, and 40% of the remaining are laparoscopic operations using small incisions, cameras and probes. The robots limit back pain, a common complaint among surgeon’s who carry out prostate surgery.The da Vinci is a spider-like unit the size of a double fridge, with overhanging mechanical joints wrapped in transparent sheeting.The surgeon marked out four small incisions on Gurney’s stomach and after using his scalpel “for the first and only time”, started screwing a camera port into place. Justin Vale , consultant urologist and pre-eminent robotic surgeon, said that the advantage is that you can pull things in and out easily.Within a few minutes, two robotic arms were busying away removing John Gurney’s prostate.