Robotic surgery called 'in the destiny of humanity'

I would like to congratulate Dr. Pier Cristoforo Giulianotti for his work to date demonstrating the ef­fectiveness of robotic pancreatic surgery. Clear­ly the “robot,” as it is af­fectionately termed, is here to stay.

It has clear applications in all surgical subspecialties and is being embraced by surgeons, administrators, and pa­tients as an important tool. It is a platform that will facili­tate future developments that are certain to change the way we prac­tice our craft.

Dr. John Sweeney

Given the focus being placed on the value of health care deliveredin the United States, it is incum­bent upon surgeons to continuous­ly evaluate the quality and costs of each intervention that we offer to our patients. To many, this type of evaluative process might seem to come up short when it comes to robotic applications for many mini­mally invasive procedures. Quality in most studies has been equivalent, while the costs associated with this expensive technology can be very significant. Because this new piece of technology is the first step in a new direction, we must con­tinue to place the time, effort and cost into refin­ing, enhancing and im­proving it’s applications as the technology stands today. However unless we are able to accomplish this goal, I fear we fall into the trap of “using a Cadillac for a golf cart” which is something that the U.S. health care system cannot afford nor sustain.

Dr. John Sweeney, is an ACS Fellow and the W. Dean Warren Distinguished Chair in Surgery at Emory University, Atlanta.