ENT Surgeons Who Use daVinci Robot

Readers know my skepticism on the practicality of the daVinci robot in ENT head and neck surgeries. However, that does not mean that I do not doubt its effectiveness in certain unique situations... as well as market forces that use such high (and expensive) technology to market a given hospital's services. In any case, plenty of patients have asked me if there's any ENT surgeons who use the daVinci robot in the region. There are... and here are two that I am aware of. Dr. Dav…

10/04/2012 0

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daVinci Surgical Robot Makes Paper Airplane... Yawn!

A blog reader of mine informed me about this YouTube video of a surgeon, Dr. James Porter, making a paper airplane using a daVinci surgical robot . For those unawares, the daVinci robot is used to assist the surgeon in "difficult-to-reach" procedures. It is used in the fields of urology, ENT, gynecology, and general surgery. There is much debate whether the daVinci robot really is worth it. This paper airplane video is a perfect example of why it is NOT worth the $1.3 mil…

6/06/2012 1

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Robotic Surgery for Obstructive Sleep Apnea

I came across this article the other day regarding use of the daVinci robot to perform base of tongue surgery for obstructive sleep apnea . For those who don't know, the daVinci robot system made by Intuitive Surgical is a robotic system whereby the surgeon directs the arms of the robot to perform surgery in difficult-to-access areas of the body. My feeling is that using a robot to perform sleep apnea surgery is way overkill akin to using a $50,000 sniper rifle to kill an ant on t…

12/23/2011 0

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Cuddly Robot That Cures Snoring!

The robot which is shaped like a polar bear essentially listens for snoring while monitoring oxygen levels of the snorer. The individual sleeps on this robotic bear. When oxygen levels drop coupled with snoring heard through its microphone, the robot lifts its paw and tickles the forehead which induces the snoring individual to shift position resulting in snore cessation all without actually waking the individual. Watch video below. Of course, there's no studies I'm aware of that …

11/29/2011 1

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Robotic Mouth Sings the "Natural" Way

When it comes to robotics, the sounds they make is either due to the machinery that runs them or an electronic recording that comes out of a speaker. Well, there's a scientist, Hideyuki Sawada , who is working on a robotic "mouth" that produces sound the same way humans do. - Lungs to power the voice using airflow - Vocal cords to create the noise to create a voice - Pharynx (Throat) to create the space and harmonic overtones that affect the "quality" of the voice …

7/18/2011 0

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Robotic Surgery for Oral Cancer

I encountered these amazing pictures in the Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery Dec 2010 edition in an article titled "Transoral Robotic-Assisted Surgery for Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma". This surgery was performed at Mayo Clinic as well as University of Alabama. Of note, there are also some YouTube videos of robotic surgery for thyroidectomy you can watch below or here . Reference: Transoral Robotic-Assisted Surgery for Head and Neck Squamous Cel…

12/17/2010 2

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YouTube Video on Robotic Thyroidectomy Which Eliminates Neck Incisions

Surgeons in Texas have uploaded a YouTube video showing a thyroidectomy being performed by a robot under surgeon guidance without making any incision on the neck. The robot is utilizes the DaVinci system. Check it out here ! Non-robotic thyroid surgery can be seen in this video here  which does use a neck incision.

8/12/2009 0

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