Intuitive Surgical Sued After Its Robot Allegedly Caused Permanent Trauma Leading to Patient’s Death

One maker of a surgical robot is facing legal charges after one man sued it following the death of his wife. The man who filed the complaint claimed the surgical robot contributed to the untimely death of his spouse.

Surgical Robot Allegedly Burned, Tore a Woman's Small Intestine

A man sued Intuitive Surgical (ISI), the company that created the surgical robot, saying that during surgery, the device tore and burned his wife's small intestine, which allegedly led to her death.

Harvey Sultzer claimed in a case submitted on Tuesday to the US District Court for the Southern District of Columbia that his wife Sandra Sultzer had health issues as a result of a Da Vinci surgical robot procedure.

According to court documents, Sandra had surgery at Baptist Health Boca Raton Regional Hospital in September 2021 to address her colon cancer. She reportedly sustained a burn to her small intestine during the procedure, which led to a perforation that needed surgical repair, resulted in long-term physical and psychological anguish, and finally, her demise.

The complainant claimed that burns to internal organs caused by the robot's devices were among the most severe injuries.

It claimed that ISI "systematically underreported" to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the seriousness of these injuries.

According to the lawsuit, most cases concerned a rubber sleeve fastened to the end of several da Vinci metal tools as an insulator to stop electricity from escaping. The tip cover accessories' inability to properly insulate the metal instruments due to cracks or slits allowed sparks or electricity to escape.

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Surgical Robot Operates Complex Surgery

Meanwhile, not all surgeries involving surgical robots ended in a tragedy. Another case gave hope and life to a different patient.

During the pandemic, urologist Archie Fernando contacted her coworker Nadine Hacha-Haram, the CEO of the healthcare platform Proximie. The business created a technology for augmented reality that lets surgeons work together virtually through a live video feed.

Mo Tajer, a 31-year-old patient of Fernando's, had chemotherapy for testicular cancer that had spread to his belly. His aorta and inferior vena cava, two of the biggest blood vessels in the body, had a 5-centimeter tumor linked to them. So, a specialist was required for the surgery.

Despite Fernando's lack of experience, they used Hachach-Haram's Proximie. She collaborated with US-based surgeon Jim Porter, a Swedish Medical Center in Seattle physician specializing in robotic surgery and among the most skilled laparoscopic surgeons.

Fernando wore her protection gear as they operated on Tajer. She used the surgical robot's console two meters away from the patient.

With a camera at the end of a tiny tube to record footage of the patient's abdomen, the robot's fourth arm holds surgical equipment. Porter was sitting at home in Seattle, wearing his robe and pajamas, telling Fernando what to do by watching the procedure on his laptop.

Porter spent five hours using Hachach-Haram's Proximie to guide Fernando through the surgery. They discussed utilizing an augmented reality pointer to point out anatomical sections and annotate images to demonstrate how to make the various incisions.

Hachach-Haram signed in as well to see the activity. Since it was the first time Proximie had been used in surgery since the beginning of the pandemic, she acknowledged that she was astounded and could not express how at ease the two doctors were.

Hachach-Haram was amazed at how her invention had enabled the life-saving procedure. When she realized that it would never have happened without Proximie, she became emotional.