In an extraordinary editorial in the July issue of the Journal of Urology, Dr. Michael Koch of the University of Indiana School of Medicine makes the following statement: … READ MORE …
Filed under: Living with Prostate Cancer, Management, Treatment | Tagged: open, prostatectomy, robot, robot-assisted, surgery | 3 Comments »
For the past 15 or so years, the daVinci brand of surgical robot, developed and made by Intuitive, has dominated the marketplace for surgical robots. However, changes are coming that may challenge that effective monopoly. … READ MORE …
Filed under: Management, Treatment | Tagged: innovation, new, robot, robot-assisted, surgery | Leave a comment »
There is an interesting article just published in Social Science & Medicine that addresses the social, “emotive”, and other drivers for uptake of da Vinci robot-assisted radical prostatectomy over the past few years in the Netherlands. … READ MORE …
Filed under: Living with Prostate Cancer, Management, Treatment | Tagged: affordance, da Vinci, robot, uptake | 2 Comments »
There is an interesting editorial just published on line in the Journal of Urology and written by Prof. Joseph Smith of Vanderbilt University. Unfortunately, because it is an editorial, there is no abstract, and the text is only accessible if you are a subscriber to the journal. … READ MORE …
Filed under: Diagnosis, Management, Risk, Treatment | Tagged: da Vinci, responsibility, robot, trust | 8 Comments »
A long article by Lindsey Tanner of the Associated Press was published yesterday on the NBC News “Vitals” web site. It addresses the FDA investigation of reports of “problems, including several deaths” associated with the use of the da Vinci robot surgical system that we have previously referred to. … READ MORE …
Filed under: Living with Prostate Cancer, Management, Treatment | Tagged: da Vinci, Intuitive, robot, surgery | 8 Comments »
Prostate Cancer International, on this site and even more so on its associated social network, has long emphasized the importance of physician focus, skill, and experience as being key factors in the diagnosis and management of prostate cancer — regardless of the specific types of technology that may be being applied. … READ MORE …
Filed under: Management, Treatment | Tagged: assistance, da Vinci, experience, robot, skill, surgery | 8 Comments »
According to an on-line report in the Financial Times published late last night, “The FDA has received an increase in reports of problems associated with [Intuitive’s da Vinci robotic surgical technology] and said it is trying to weigh the risks and benefits of using robotic surgery rather than conventional surgery.” … READ MORE …
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: da Vinci, FDA, problem, robot | 2 Comments »
As we regularly point out, outcomes after surgery for prostate cancer are massively impacted by the skill, the experience, and the focus of the surgeon. The tools he or she uses to carry out the surgery may or may not be a factor. We simply do not really know. … READ MORE …
Filed under: Living with Prostate Cancer, Management, Treatment | Tagged: laparoscopic, open, outcome, prostatectomy, radical, RALP, robot | 1 Comment »
According to an article by Hirsch et al. in the inaugural issue of Practical Radiation Oncology (a new journal for radiation oncologists and their staff), there are some small but significant post-operative differences in pelvic anatomy between patients who undergo robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP) as opposed to standard, open forms of radical prostatectomy. … READ MORE …
Filed under: Living with Prostate Cancer, Management, Treatment | Tagged: laparoscopic, planning, radiation, radical prostatectomy, RALP, robot, Treatment | 2 Comments »
The Wall Street Journal carries a sad story today of what can go wrong when surgeons with insufficient skill, focus, and experience use high-tech equipment to carry out complicated operations. … READ MORE …
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: da Vinci, robot, surgery | 1 Comment »
An article by Hu et al. in the Journal of the American Medical Association this week is getting a lot of media visibility. (See for example the report from the Associated Press.) The “New” Prostate Cancer InfoLink thinks the article says more about the skills of individual surgeons than it does about the techniques and equipment that they use. … READ MORE …
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: open, outcomes, RALP, robot, RRP, surgery | 2 Comments »
THE "NEW" PROSTATE CANCER INFOLINK 