Surgeon Folds and Throws Paper Airplane Using da Vinci Robot (video)

From Swedish hospital YouTube channel: Dr. James Porter, medical director of robotic surgery at Swedish folds a small paper airplane with the da Vinci robot to demonstrate how this device gives surgeons greater surgical precision and dexterity over existing approaches.



With over 600,000 views, this video undoubtedly brings good publicity to the hospital.

However, the robot costs on average $1.3 million, in addition to several hundred thousand dollars of annual maintenance fees. Surgical procedures performed with the robot take longer than traditional ones. Critics say that hospitals have a hard time recovering the cost and that most clinical data does not support the claim of improved patient outcomes.

The manufacturer Intuitive Surgical has sold more than 1,000 units worldwide.

References:

Prepping Robots to Perform Surgery, The New York Times, 4 May 2008.
Wikipedia

Comments from Twitter:

Meenakshi Budhraja @gastromom: Cool !!

Westby Fisher, MD @doctorwes:  Surgeon Folds and Throws Paper Airplane Using da Vinci Robot (video) bit.ly/KG2EG6 - Manual faster, no?

PDara MD, FACP @JediPD:  da Vinci good for that

Skeptical Scalpel @Skepticscalpel:  Finally a use. Maybe the airplanes could have the hospital's logo on them. Folding a paper airplane. Amazing feat by a surgical robot? I think not. My blog. is.gd/6tBcZp -- Folding a paper airplane. Amazing feat by the surgical robot?  http://goo.gl/cz7lC

Ravi Pamnani @ravrav0: Surgical robots: Folding tiny paper airplanes - CHECK. Actually improving clinical outcomes - TBD. bit.ly/LEp3jg  #medtech

Jenaro Fdez-Valencia @JenaroFV_MD: after all ... it doesn't fly! If he did a boat instead, it would work. Can he try?

Headed for the OR? Mayo Clinic Suggests 5 Questions to Ask Your Surgeon Before the Operation

Learning that you will need surgery can prompt many questions and a lot of anxiety. Beyond details about your procedure, what else should you ask your surgeon before the operation? Mayo Clinic's Robert Cima, M.D., a colon and rectal surgeon and chair of Mayo's surgical quality subcommittee, suggests adding these questions to your list:

· Are you board-certified to perform this procedure?
· Will it help if I lose weight before the operation?
· Does it matter if I'm a smoker?
· What if I have sleep apnea?
· Is there anything we can do to get me out of the hospital faster?

From migrant worker to brain surgeon at Johns Hopkins

Dr. Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa is the Director of the Brain Tumor Stem Cell Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Twenty years ago, Dr. Quinones-Hinojosa hopped a border fence from Mexico into the United States and became a migrant farm worker, living in the fields in a broken-down camper he bought for $300.

When told he would probably be a farm worker for the rest of his life, he signed up for English classes at a community college, where one of his teachers encouraged him to apply to UC-Berkeley. There, he developed a passion for science, and showed remarkable aptitude.

He went on to Harvard Medical School and graduated with honors, followed by a residency in neurosurgery at UC-San Francisco, where he completed a postdoctoral fellowship in developmental and stem cell biology.



References:
Dr. Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa. BigThink.com.