The first documented use of a robot in surgery dates back to 1985 when doctors used what was called a PUMA 560 to conduct a neurosurgical biopsy. The robotic arm was originally designed for industrial use. Later in the 80s what was called the PROBOT was developed at Imperial College London for use in prostate surgery.
The technology advanced through the 1990s and then in 2000 the da Vinci Surgical System received FDA approval for general laparoscopic surgery. It had a console the surgeon would use to control robotic arms and they could see what they were doing with 3D visualization and this became a cornerstone of modern robotic surgery that’s still being built upon today.
Lee Health began conducting robot-assisted surgery in 2012, and since then their surgeons have conducted more than 14,000 surgical procedures using a variety of robotic systems. These days, more than 100 surgeons with robotics training in their specialty at Lee Health are using 29 robots capable of being used in a variety of surgeries.
In order to learn more about this not entirely new, but certainly cutting edge field of medicine, we talk with two people who oversee robotic surgery and surgical services at Lee Health.
Guests:
Dr. Juan Ibarra, System Robotic Surgery Program Manager at Lee Health
Cheri Cartwright, System Vice President of Surgical Services at Lee Health
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