A team of surgeons from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania are the first in the world to use a surgical robot to assist with a bilateral free flap breast reconstruction – a procedure in which tissue is taken from the lower abdomen – similar to a “tummy tuck” – and used to rebuild the breast.
The robot allows surgeons to make a much smaller incision into the abdominal wall muscles, allowing patients to recover and be discharged more quickly and without the use of addictive narcotic painkillers.
Suhail Kanchwala, MD, an associate professor of Plastic Surgery, led the team that performed the procedure, which took place at Pennsylvania Hospital earlier this month. Kanchwala partnered with Ian Soriano, MD, FACS, a clinical assistant professor of Surgery, who specializes in minimally invasive procedures, to develop the technique.
For more information, read the full press release at www.pennmedicine.org
Large mastectomy defect. Large donor site defect.
NEED FOR ROBOT?
Hugely expensive equipment requiring constant maintenance,requiring an overly large room or two rooms with numerous support personnel, extensive prep setup.
Let’s use an electron microscope to look at a bowling ball.