Last Friday, I had the fun and excitement of observing a "robot-assisted donor nephrectomy" (kidney removal for transplantation into someone with kidney failure) by live feed at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The million-dollar machine is called the DaVinci, and is an amazing piece of machinery. After the surgery, the surgeon, Enrico Benedetti, spoke to the group of dialysis nurses, dietitians and social workers at UIC Transplant Update about the machine and its capabilities.
The highlight, however, came after the end, when I was in a group that accompanied Dr. Benedetti to the training room for the DaVinci, and actually got to try it out myself -- It was astonishing! Looking into the screen, I thought I was working removing rubber rings about the size of a quarter from cones a couple inches tall. When I got off the machine, I saw that the real items I practiced on were tiny! Plus the "hands" can rotate 360 degrees. Such a fascinating experience.
THEN Dr. Benedetti took us onto the transplant floor and we saw the recipient, coming out of anesthesia, and we met the donor, who was pretty alert.
Altogether a great day.
On youtube, you can find demonstrations of the surgery, if you're interested and can stomach it.
1 comment:
Considering a career as a transplant surgeon?
Post a Comment