For as long as I can remember, I have been mesmerized by the human body and its inner-workings. That is why I like to watch health education shows; especially, those that show real-life surgical procedures.
Gruesome? Maybe, but it makes me happy on a cloudy day.
Recently, I have stumbled on a new and growing technology that is going to revolutionize the way we experience surgery. This device is called the da Vinci Surgical System (created by Intuitive Surgical). It is a robotic system that allows for very small incisions, in order to perform very delicate procedures.
In the area of cardiothoracic surgery, the benefits are infinite. The sternum of a patient is cut open and the rib cage is forced apart, during a traditional heart operation. The use of the da Vinci robot requires only a low number of very small incisions, which allow access through the ribs' natural spaces and below and beneath the rib cage. This allows the surgeon to operate the robot in a very tight space, without opening the chest. This minimally invasive procedure also has another added benefit; it doesn't require the heart to be stopped and the patient placed on a heart-lung by-pass machine. Many patients are able to resume normal activities within 1 to 2 weeks; whereas, patients who undergo traditional thoracic procedures require 1 to 2 months to recover!
I am glad to live in an age when medicine is growing by leaps. Perhaps, the actual act of surgery no longer has to be as debilitating to individuals as the disease it treats. The idea of heart surgery has always been fearful to me. I hope that I never require it, but if I do, I feel better knowing that there are more options available to me than being semi-butchered on the operating table to save my life!
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