Doctors couldn’t operate on my tumour, but this robot did — and it may have saved my life::Glenn Deir has special thanks for the robot who operated on his tonsil cancer.

  • @wahmingEnglish
    4•10 months ago

    Da Vinci’s “fingers” can go where the human hand cannot. The surgery is less invasive, the complications fewer, the recovery quicker. But da Vinci is not R2-D2. It does not act autonomously. It does what its master directs, and in my case its master was Dr. Martin Corsten. He sits behind a console controlling da Vinci’s arms while peering through high-definition cameras.

    …

    When I asked Dr. Corsten what the surgery would have looked like without da Vinci he replied, “In the good old days, we would have cut your jaw in two.” That’s how they got their access. The image of my jaw being split like a turkey wishbone was deeply unsettling. Radiation treatment has made even a simple tooth extraction impossible. The jaw won’t heal properly. Without da Vinci, I had no surgical option.

    I have thanked all my doctors profusely. But I reserve a special thank you for da Vinci.

    The article is EXTREMELY clear about what Da Vinci is and why he’s grateful to it. It’s your comment that’s total nonsense

    • @EvilBit@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2•10 months ago

      The headline is incredibly misleading. “Doctors couldn’t operate on my tumor” is patently false when a doctor DID operate on the tumor USING the robot. It’s deliberately stealing credit from the doctor and giving it to their tool. It’s the headline that’s nonsensical.

      • @wahmingEnglish
        1•10 months ago

        I agree. But at this point in time I’m judging anybody who hasn’t yet learned to ignore the headline and read the article

        • @EvilBit@lemmy.worldEnglish
          1•10 months ago

          Fair enough. But it’s still valuable to express annoyance at the headline itself, which is problematic as hell.