Mark Olson's Lecture

Mark Olson's lecture on the advancement of technology in surgery was especially interesting because he introduced a new surgical system I had never heard of before - the Da Vinci Surgical System. According to Olson, there are numerous benefits that come with this system. It seems that this system is like an upgrade of laparoscopy because it still involves looking at a screen to conduct surgery. From the videos of the system I have seen, it seems that the system improves surgery; the arms of the machine move in ways the human wrist cannot; further, the system uses binocular vision to imitate or simulate the vision of humans (this makes the surgery more "intuitive" - this vision is unavailable for laparoscopy). However, unlike laparoscopy, in the DVSS, there is no direct surgeon-patient contact; instead, all the incisions are made through the machine. Furthermore, the DVSS has many safety features that reduces the risk of the procedure as compared to traditional open surgery or even laparoscopy. However, there is some concern that by using this system, the skill of surgery may vanish. For example, surgeons no longer would have to memorize complete procedures because the system could guide the surgeon through the procedure. It also may be that there is a loss of the need for intense congnitive ability. Though this may remove some of the skills associated with surgery, in a way, it requires a different set of skills, in my mind. Also, the use of this system may lead to a new field of surgery and medicine since it is not necessary for the surgeon to actually be near the patient. What if this leads to global surgeries, where a patient can be in Nigeria and the surgeon in New York? This may open up great possibilities. Something else I found interesting was the images of surgery that compared an experienced and novice surgeon. The experienced surgeon's incisions were more compact and seemed more like a machine. This may indicate that using machines for surgery may be a better option. I think that this system has the potential to revolutionize the field of surgery; whether if it will change it for the better or the worse is highly debatle.