Baby Robot

I like this picture of the Da Vinci robotic surgical system because it captures the attending surgeon in the console as well as the plastic-draped robot hovering over the patient. While I've provided anesthesia for several adult robotic cases, I did my first pediatric robot surgery in a child the other day. From a purely medical standpoint, the case wasn't too remarkable; it was a healthy child undergoing kidney surgery and the anesthetic was standard for a laparoscopic intervention. But I thought it was pretty impressive that the robot, which towers over me (I admit, I'm not incredibly tall) could be used to make delicate and precise movements in the belly of a child not even 2 years old. Watching the surgeons manipulate the tissue on the monitor, I find that in such a small child with such tiny organs, perhaps robotic-assisted surgeries are better than traditional approaches because the robot can translate our gross movements into much finer, graceful maneuvers.

Image is in the public domain, from the National Cancer Institute.