Urgent and complicated surgery was made possible using an application with two doctors thousands of miles apart working together. Read to know how they did it using a surgical robot.
Surgical Robot Operates Complex Surgery
Urologist Archie Fernando contacted her colleague Nadine Hacha-Haram, the founding CEO of a small health-tech startup, Proximie. The company had developed an augmented reality platform allowing surgeons to collaborate remotely via live video stream.
Fernando had a patient, Mo Tajer, 31, who underwent chemotherapy for testicular cancer, which had metastasized to his abdomen, Wired reported.
A 5-centimeter tumor was attached to his aorta and inferior vena cava, two of the largest blood vessels in the body. Thus, the procedure needed an expert.
Fernando would have performed an open surgery, but it would require the patient to have a two-week post-operative recovery period in the ICU.
The incident happened at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Aachach-Haram said they couldn't afford to expose the immunosuppressed patient for that long in the hospital. They wanted him in and out of the facility the soonest.
They decided to use Hachach-Haram's Proximie even if Fernando wasn't experienced. She worked with US-based surgeon Jim Porter, a medical doctor for robotic surgery at the Swedish Medical Center in Settle, who pioneered that type of operation and was one of the most experienced laparoscopic surgeons.
They performed the surgery on May 21 with Fernando wearing her protective equipment. She operated the console of the surgical robot two meters away from the patient.
The robot has four arms, three fitted with surgical instruments, and the fourth holds a thin tube with a camera at the end to film the patient's abdomen.
Porter was wearing his pajama and robe while sitting home in Seattle, instructing Fernando what to do. He had the same view on his laptop.
Fernando and Porter worked together for five hours. He guided her with the surgery for five hours. He talked to her using an augment-reality pointer to identify the body parts and draw annotations to show her how to perform the specific incisions.
Hachach-Haram also logged in to watch the operation. She admitted that she was speechless at how calm the two doctors were and was amazed as it was the first time Proximie was used in surgery at the start of the pandemic.
Hachach-Haram was in awe of how her creation made the lifesaving surgery possible. She was emotional upon realizing that it would have never happened without Proximie.
What Is Proximie?
Proximie is a healthcare platform that combines telepresence, content management, and data insights, enabling hospitals, surgeons, and device companies to share their knowledge and expertise in real time anywhere in the world.
Porter and Fernando's collaboration shows that Proximie allows surgeons to perform their best by receiving real-team guidance from experts, expanding and accelerating training, and providing accurate assessment.
This platform allows patients to enjoy better outcomes and productivity from surgeons and healthcare facilities. According to Dr. Joe Dusseldorp, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon, live sharing of surgical techniques is the future of surgical education. He predicted that it would replace the slow and firewalled repository of information.
Check out more news and information on Surgery in Science Times.
