The Effects of Technology: Remote Surgery (Telesurgery)

Remote Surgery (Telesurgery)

"What we have done is to show that surgery is possible at long distances -- it could be hundreds of kilometers, it could be thousands of kilometers.  It's very much like the Internet was a couple of decades ago.  It really is a network for medical and surgical care," - Dr. Mehran Anvari, founding Director of the Centre for Minimal Access Surgery (CMAS), in Ontario, Canada

The first transatlantic surgical procedure allowed two surgeons in New York City to use IP-based technology to successfully remove the gallbladder of a patient located 6,000 km away in Strasbourg, France.  Using a three-armed robot, the surgeons directed two of the robotic arms to cut tiny incisions into the patient's abdomen, while the third arm inserted a mini-camera into her abdominal cavity to provide the doctors with visibility into the patient's internal area for guidance during the surgery.  This historic event happened back in February 2001. 

        There are not any innovations to Telesurgery because it is the innovation itself.  It is an innovation to surgery.

Effects of Telesurgery on the Economy: 

Telesurgery opened up more jobs for surgeons, but also took jobs away because of the robots doing the actual surgery.  It helped people around the world, and was mostly a positive effect on the economy.  People could just "dial up" the best surgeon for their specific operation no matter where they were.  The cost-effectiveness on the economy is a major issue for telesurgery.

Effects of Telesurgery on the Environment: 

 Environmental concerns include dust and high temperatures, and durability concerns include shock absorption and packing.

Effects of Telesurgery on the Culture:

Telesurgery goes against traditional surgery. It may cause conflict with certain cultural beliefs.

Effects on Politics:

Some people may not agree with telesurgery, so it might cause disagreements between cultural beliefs, and political parties.  It could cause new laws to be created if necessary. 

Effects of Telesurgery on Society:

Telesurgery saves human lives around the world, even where they do not have the best healthcare. It helped society because they didn't have to be in the same hospital as their surgeon to be operated on.  With telesurgery, location was not a problem.  It decreased operation time and hospital stay because of the robotic surgery.