Six-million-dollar 'man' to the rescue!

04 January, 2008, 05:42

How about a doctor who can work 24/7, never succumbs to stress and can still perform the most intricate medical procedures with utmost precision? A U.S-developed robotic surgeon could transform the way operations are conducted in Russia.

Those who have ever operated with the robot-surgeon say it can work miracles. The electronic surgeon has been named after the great Italian artist and scientist Leonardo Da Vinci.

American professor Davis Douglas is in Russia’s Yekaterinburg to hold a master-class for Russian surgeons who've come from other regions to see how 'Da Vinci' works.

You can even operate on people from another room and even from another country!! All the surgeon has to do is to manipulate the metallic ‘hands’ from the control panel. The result is high accuracy, swift results and minimum tissue cuts.

“This procedure is like a computer game. But you should always have in mind that it requires great responsibility as it's about a patient's life,” explained Aleskandr Zyryanov, Head of the Urological Department at the Sverdlovsk Regional Hospital.

Meanwhile, Mikhail Prudkov, Head of the Surgery Clinics at the same hospital believes the innovation “allows surgery of high accuracy.”

Vladimir Shennikov was one of 'Da Vinci's' first patients when  he had a tumour removed.

“I was taken out of the rehabilitation ward at 3 am. As soon as I regained consciousness I got up and had a smoke,” Vladimir recalls.

This may have been not the right step to recovery. Anyhow, it was because of the minimal number of cuts to his body by the robot that Vladimir was able to get up so quickly.

Specialists say 'Da Vinci' can be used for almost any kind of operation.

The asking price for the robot is up to $US 6 million.

However, it’s worth the money. Now Russian surgeons say that with its help they'll be soon able to operate on patients who previously could only be treated abroad.