Sunday, July 24, 2016

Basics On Robotic Surgery Houston Residents Need To Know

By Debra Butler


Robotic surgery is a form of minimally invasive surgical operation in which the surgeon is assisted by a small robot in their work. The robot has arms to which the necessary surgical instruments are attached. It is important to point out that it is not the robot that conducts the operation. Rather it is the surgeon but with a little help. There are a number of facts on robotic surgery Houston residents would find informative.

One needs to do several things as part of the preparation process before they undergo the procedure. Many of them are similar to the requirements for other operations. Such may include, for instance, the determination of platelet and hemoglobin as a means of assessing the risk of bleeding. If one is on drugs that may increase the risk of blood loss, they will be asked to stop them ten days before the day of the operation.

When you are taken to the operating room, you will receive some form of anesthesia (general or regional depending on the condition). The surgeon will then make some incisions in your abdominal wall to be used for the insertion of instruments. The robot is connected to an endoscope that helps to generate images from the site of operation. They will then sit comfortably in the computer station from where they will operate the robot.

Modern robotic equipment are capable of generating 3-D images onto the monitor. This effectively recreates the anatomical region for the surgeon. If you have been put on regional anesthesia (such as spinal block), you will remain awake and may have an opportunity to see the operation taking place. The robot is programmed to match the hand movements of the surgeon and these are transmitted to the tiny surgical instruments at the operation site.

Robot assisted procedures are indicated for a wide range of conditions. Examples include surgical hernia repair, gynecological procedures such as hysterectomy, tubal ligation (and reversal), coronary artery bypass, reduction of tumor mass, heart valve repair and prostatectomy among others. This option cannot, however, be used when handling complex operations and surgeries where manual manipulation is needed.

A number of advantages are associated with this type of technique. The level of precision that can be achieved here is a lot more than what is seen with the open procedure as well as conventional laparoscopy. The great precision greatly reduces the risk of injury to internal organs. It also makes it possible to operate in very small spaces. The level of fatigue lower with the robotic option.

A few challenges may prevent optimal utilization of this option in handling routine surgical operations. Among them is the fact that accessibility is often a problem since most centers are yet to acquire the equipment. Related to the same, is the absence of adequately trained personnel to operate the equipment. Most experienced surgeons find it difficult to abandon the methods that they have used for many years.

As is the case with many other types of surgeries, some complications may be encountered when this technique is used. However, the risk is less than that associated with other techniques such as the open procedure and conventional laparoscopy. The most commonly encountered complications include bleeding, reactions to the anesthetic drugs used infections. The risk of these complications can be lowered even further by having adequate preparation.




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