I was invited to see some of the new equipment at St. Anne’s Hospital in Fall River. The first one that was demonstrated was the MAKO. A surgeon can basically make sure that your knee or hip replacement is a custom fit thanks to scans, cameras, and the tech that accompanies the robot.

The next piece of equipment was the da Vinci. This one is used for general surgery, mainly the abdomen. Before this device, a hernia repair usually meant a scar from the top of your belly down to the bottom. With da Vinci, a surgeon can repair your hernia with an incision the size of a button, and he or she would go through your belly button. WHAT?! Angela Stanton is one of the Clinical Leaders at St. Anne hospital and she described trying out the da Vinci for the first time herself during a demonstration. The staff had Jax and other small objects and used the da Vinci robot to pick them up. “It was like playing a video game.”

The last robot was the Globus ExcelsiusGPS. This “system uses robotics and a sophisticated navigation system, similar to that in a car, to guide the surgeon in performing spinal procedures.” Scans are taken before surgery to create a “map” of the patient’s anatomy. That same map is combined with live pictures “act as a guide in helping the surgeon maneuver a rigid robotic arm to the exact location for precisely placed implants.”

It is definitely 2018, folks. Robots may be helping surgeons during these procedures to help remove “human error,” but heart and compassion still remain. These doctors are here for each and every one of their patients. (And so are their robots).

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