U-M Surgeons Go Robotic

Juan Arenas Photo: Gregory Fox

Surgeons in the U-M Health System have a new high-tech assistant — a $1-million, seven-foot-tall robot, which has proven its worth already in several surgical procedures.

U-M is one of the first hospitals in the U.S. to perform robot-assisted surgery since the FDA approved its use for laparoscopic surgery in July 2000.
On October 15, 2001, Juan Arenas, M.D., an assistant professor of surgery in the U-M Medical School, used the robotic device for a laparoscopic living kidney donation. The surgery was a success and the patient made a full recovery. The robot also has been used for prostate removal, hysterectomies, and several surgeries to remove organs for transplant.

“The primary advantage of robotic surgery is that it provides a full range of motion similar to a human’s wrist. Traditional laparoscopic surgery doesn’t allow that,” Arenas says. “But the robot goes beyond just wrist movement. It can actually rotate 360 degrees, something humans could never do. This gives surgeons more precise and accurate movements.”

Instead of performing surgery by the patient’s side, Arenas operates from a console a few feet away, viewing a three-dimensional image of the incision and controlling remotely the surgical instruments. Although a second surgeon and medical assistants are next to the patient, Arenas performs the entire procedure using the arms of the robot.

Laparoscopic surgery is minimally invasive, because it is performed through a small incision rather than a large opening. Surgeons slide a tiny video camera inside the patient’s body and operate with small instruments. In robot-assisted surgery, the robot actually has three arms — one holds the camera, and two perform the operation.

The robot was created by Intuitive Surgical Incorporated. Before using it, surgeons must undergo extensive laparoscopic training, in addition to training from the company on how to operate the machine.

Arenas emphasizes that the robot isn’t intended to replace the surgeon. “The robot literally gives us an extra set of hands at the operating table,” he notes. “It’s the next major step in surgery for the 21st century.”

—Carrie Hagen

To learn more about the U-M’s new robotic surgical assistant, go to:
www.intuitivesurgical.com