As heart surgeons go, Dr Da Vinci is as skilled as they come, although his bedside manner could be better.
The Da Vinci Robot, the latest addition to the medical staff at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, has been conducting complicated operations with all the skills of a human surgeon, albeit one with four perfectly tremor-free arms.
Controlled by a surgeon using a joystick and three-dimensional goggles, the robot can perform complex procedures, such as a quadruple bypass, with ease. The first robotic operations were carried out in July.
The robot is able to forgo traditional heart-surgery techniques, which involve cutting the breast bone. It performs intricate operations through tiny holes made in the chest wall, which means that a patient’s recovery time is considerably shorter and the risk of surgical trauma is significantly lower. Details