No abstract

Telepresence surgery is a novel technology that will allow procedures to be performed on a patient at locations that are physically remote from the operating surgeon. This new method provides the sensory illusion that the surgeon's hands are in direct contact with the patient. We studied the feasibility of the use of telepresence surgery to perform basic operations in vascular surgery, including tissue dissection, vessel manipulation, and suturing.Methods: A prototype telepresence surgery system with bimanual force-reflective manipulators, interchangeable surgical instruments, and stereoscopic video input was used. Arteriotomies created ex vivo in segments of bovine aortae or in vivo in femoral arteries of anesthetized swine were dosed with telepresence surgery or by conventional techniques. Time required, technical quality (patency, integrity of suture line), and subjective difficulty were compared for the two methods.Results: All attempted procedures were successfully completed with telepresenee surgery.Arteriotomy closures were completed in 192 + 24 sec with conventional techniques and 483 + 118 sec with telepresence surgery, but the precision attained with telepresence surgery was equal to that of conventional techniques. Telepresence surgery was described as intuitive and natural by the surgeons who used the system.

No abstract