Not too long ago, many people would die of the influenza, the flu in layman's terms. In today's world, vaccinations prevent diseases from wiping out family lines. Science has come along way since the 1800s, and medicine was right there with it.
A branch of medicine that has very recently--within the last 30 years-- come a long way is surgery. 30 years ago, if a person needed his or her appendix out, he or she underwent a very invasive and open operation and would be in bed for days, maybe even weeks. However, due to recent advances, a person can have his or her appendix out through three small incisions no larger than a half inch in size.
Because of the minimal invasion, complications such as risk of internal bleeding, high pain, and surgical site infections are greatly decreased. These benefits are all thanks to robot-assisted surgeries. The surgeon controls the robot, which can get into tight spaces easier and with decreasing the risk of nicking another part of the body, according to the Mayo Clinic.
As I was doing my research, unbiased information was hard to come across (naturally). The article I used for my facts quoted a member of the board of trustees of the Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons. Of course he is going to fully support this mechanism as he would be hypocritical if he did not. However, some doctors do opt for the "old-fashioned" technique.
A robot is a engineered machine. As I mentioned at the very start of this, the technique is only about 25 years old, which is very new in terms of science. Yes, it is approved by the FDA, and yes it has a very high success rate, but trusting a machine when a life at stake is a big leap and big ask. There have been quite a few mishaps that had gone unreported to the FDA, according to a study done by the Journal for Healthcare Quality. When complications do occur during robotic-assisted surgeries, it is hard to distinguish if it was the doctor or robot that made the mistake.
Robotic surgeries are also a bit more expensive, a bit meaning a few thousand dollars. Because of the cost of the machines, the cost of the surgeries it performs also goes up. So, if a hospital spends about $1 million on a surgical robot, why would the personnel suggest open operations over robotic? Why let a perfectly expensive machine go unused? They may as well get as much use out of it as they can.
My unanswered question is how much use is enough? What if a major mishap occurs on a child having his appendix removed that could cause his life? What ifs are never advocated for, but in the medical field there can never be too many questions asked.
