My surgeon is a robot... By Camille GRONNIER

Where does it hurt?

Medicine is evolving constantly, particularly with the advance in robotics since 1990. The appearance of the surgical robot was a major development. The hands are no longer the principal allies of the surgeon but he works on the patient via joysticks. This innovation gives new prospects in surgery: it allows doctors to perform many types of delicate and complex procedures with more precision, flexibility and control than is possible with conventional techniques. The surgeon controls the arms while seated at a computer console near the operating table. The console gives the surgeon a high-definition, magnified, 3-D view of the surgical site. The surgeon leads other team members who assist during the operation.

This innovation has a lot of advantages but also some risks and constraints. It changes many things like the relation and trust between the surgeon and the patient. Trust in a robot is more difficult than trust in a human surgeon, isn’t it?

The length of surgical intervention is reduced and there were fewer complications, such as surgical site infection, less pain and blood loss, quicker recovery, also smaller and less noticeable scars and less tiresome work for surgeons. So, It seems very beneficial but there are also some risks and constraints. Firstly this innovation is very expensive and all the risks linked to surgical intervention and human failures are reduced but do not disappear. Furthermore, a patient can be afraid by the procedure; surgeons have to reassure them. The robot is not self-governing, it is not able to take decisions, but there are questions and doubts about the robot; robot systems have been linked to at least 70 deaths in the US since 2009…

In spite of all of advantages for the patient, this innovation takes away something which, for me, makes all the wonder of this profession, because what I like in this profession is the contact, the relation with the patient, the use of our hands as tools to cure and help people.

Camille GRONNIER wants to work in medecine.