Sunday, October 25, 2020

A What Did Your Surgery?!

 

Last Friday our younger son Sean had outpatient surgery for a hernia repair.  We always help him out with things like that since he is single and lives alone.  As with many surgeries he had to be at the hospital early - 6 a.m. early.  In order to get to his house to pick him up and then to the hospital in time we left our house at 5 a.m.  I am not really a morning person but you do what you have to do in these situations.  The difficulty we encountered was the fact that just as we were leaving, our area got hit with a major severe thunderstorm that lasted all morning.  Let’s just say the trip to get him to the hospital was not a lot of fun with the storm and the morning rush hour combined.

We did get him there in time despite the storm and traffic.  Due to the increase in covid in our area and new hospital restrictions we had to just let him out at the door.  We were not allowed to enter the hospital and wait inside.  That was difficult for me as a Mother but as my son reminded me, he is an adult.  We knew it would be several hours so we found a restaurant that opened at 6:30 a.m. and went there for breakfast and coffee.  We managed to spend a couple of hours at the restaurant and then went back to the hospital parking lot.  There was really no place we wanted to go after that and we wanted to stay close to the hospital so we waited in the car.  We noticed there were others waiting in their cars too.  The increase in covid combined with the almost full hospitals does create some changes in many different ways.  I received several calls from the recovery room nurse telling us he had done well but had to stay in recovery a bit longer.  Finally, around 1:00 p.m. they let us know we could pick him up.  He was groggy but basically doing okay and we drove him back to our house to stay for the initial recovery time.

After we got home, he casually mentioned to me “You know a robot did my surgery.”  I stopped what I was doing and said “A what did your surgery?”!  Sean thought it was rather cool that his surgery was done by a robot.  Yes, I have heard of that being done these days, but somehow I had not expected it.  I was glad he didn’t tell me that before the surgery as I think I would have been much more worried! 

This is the type of robot that was used.*
                          

Apparently the surgeon he had and the hospital he was in are well know for their robotic surgeries.  I looked up the hospital and read about this type of surgery and I must admit it sounded good.  They say there are many benefits of this type of surgery including greater surgical precision, increased range of motion, improved dexterity, enhanced visualization and improved access.  There is also less pain, less risk of infection, less blood loss, less scarring and faster recovery.  Sean said the surgeon sat at his head at a computer with a screen showing the magnified view of the surgery. 

The doctor sat at a console similar to this.*


Sean is sore and tired but overall doing well, thankfully.  Advancements these days continue to amaze me.  But you know, I’m still glad he didn’t tell me it was a robot until after it was over!



* Credit for photos:    By Cmglee - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,              https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39437443       


 

39 comments:

  1. I'm glad he's doing well. One of my friends was operated on by a robot recently. They had to schedule the OR, the surgeon and the robot! It worked well, but she did have some reservations about it ahead of time.

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    1. I know they are supposed to do very well but I would have reservations too if it was me!

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  2. Fascinating. You are right about not knowing.

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    1. Yes, I think he knows me well enough to not tell me until afterwards!

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  3. So glad your son is doing well. My friend just recently had a robotic hysterectomy. Technology is just amazing!

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    1. Hi Martha, welcome! Technology is amazing, I have heard that more and more surgeries are done with this method.

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  4. A robot!!! I hope your son continues to heal, and that is good he has you as a backup team.

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    1. It seems so crazy but this method of surgery is done quite a bit these days.

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  5. Good for you to look after your son as well as you could. I'm not exactly sure how comfortable I would feel about the new surgery.

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    1. I know what you mean Red. I'm not too sure about it either but it is done a lot these days. My son is very forward thinking and thought it was pretty cool.

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  6. I am glad that your son is doing well.

    God bless.

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    1. Thank you Jackie. He is sore and resting a lot but I think he will do fine with time.

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  7. I have heard that the robots are really good! Less human error:)

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    1. You know, everything I read about this type of surgery sounded good and as you said less human error. If it was me I would be nervous about having it I think but then any surgery makes me nervous!

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  8. I hope he has a speedy recovery and like you I would have worried they whole way through knowing a robot was working on my son.

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    1. Hi, welcome! Thank you for your good wishes. I think he will do fine. The first couple of weeks after surgery can be uncomfortable but he's a strong guy. I was glad he didn't tell me it was a robot until after it was over!

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  9. As far as I know, robots are also used in eye surgery, as they can be so much more precise than even the best surgeon. My eye surgery two and a half years ago was done by human surgeon, though - at least I think so - I was of course under full anaesthetics and no idea of what was really happening around me!

    Wishing your son all the best for a full and fast recovery. Such an early start to the day for all of you!

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    1. After he told me about it I read up on robotic surgery and there are many advantages. As you say they can be much more precise than any human. Considering that I imagine they would be useful for something like eye surgery. Sean is very forward thinking and also a big lover of sci-fi so he was more than willing to have this done by a robot, with a doctor controlling it of course! Thank you Meike for you good wishes!

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  10. Your ride to the hospital made for a challenging start. A bit nerve racking for sure. Amazing what medical science is doing. Your son got the best science available. I'm glad all went well.

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    1. Thank you Susan. Yes, a dark and early start in the thunderstorm was not fun. We are grateful he did well. Medical procedures are certainly advancing quickly these days!

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  11. I would think with the pandemic that this might actually be an even safer way to have surgery. I have heard also that with less human error and more precision that things go even better. I hope he is feeling great soon! :)

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    1. You may be right Rita. I read there is less of a chance of infection with this method. To me it seems so futuristic but I guess the future is here! Thanks for your good wishes.

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  12. My wife, a retired RN, just informed me that she would not want to have surgery performed by a robot.

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    1. I can understand her feelings and I would have misgivings myself as well. My son thought it was a good thing and this type of surgery is supposed to be very safe and better than a human doing it. Of course a human doctor is controlling the robot. Still, as I said I'm glad he didn't tell me until after it was over!

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    2. I suspect that Ellie really said, "I do not want to have surgery performed by a Robert!"

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  13. Wow! I'm not very fond of doctors and hospitals as it is!!! Add robots to that...what can I say!

    (Doctors and hospitals, please do not take offence...as none is intended!)

    It is a new world we are living in, that is for sure!

    That was a stressful lengthy day for you, Bonnie...just as well you weren't aware about the robot before the day begun!

    I hope all is going well for you and Tom...take good care. :)

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    1. You are right Lee, it was a long day! I was thankful when we got him back to our house. Tom and I are fine thank you. We had our first snow yesterday and more today.

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  14. Well - I am pleased that Sean's robotic surgery was successful and that you and your master got to have a long, leisurely breakfast. Like you, I am not a morning person.

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    1. I am definitely not a morning person. It has to be something like this to get me out of bed at 4:00 a.m.!

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  15. Like you, I don't think I would have liked to know ahead of time, especially if you hadn't had the opportunity to read up on it first. Waiting for someone to come out of surgery is even more challenging these days. So glad your son is on the mend. Kudos to you for the early rising and getting him there on time despite the horrendous weather. Hope the healing continues apace.

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  16. Thank you Mary. We are all glad to have that day behind us. He is sore but doing well and already back at his house.

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  17. When on holiday a few years ago I met a robot designer. He was designing for the medical industry. if that is the right word. He made it sound very matter-of-fact that robots would replace humans in many situations in medicine. He made it sound very simple as I suppose he would as that was his job!

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    1. It must have been interesting to meet someone that did that. After doing some reading about robotic surgery I could see the many advantages of it as they can be more precise than any human. Sean was totally comfortable with it but it does make me a little uneasy. It is used quite a lot these days so I guess we should get used to it!

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  18. I just watched the latest Terminator movie last night so my mind went to all kinds of crazy places thinking about the robots doing surgery. Glad it went well.

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    1. I bet! I would not want to watch that movie before robotic surgery!

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  19. Very pleased that your son's surgery went well. I bet you are glad it is over! :)

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    1. Thank you Simone! Yes, I am glad it's over, and so is he!

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  20. I would not have wanted to know either, did not even know robots could be used. I am glad he is doing okay with recovery.

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    1. Robotic surgery seems pretty wild doesn't it? Apparently it is used more and more now. It's good to hear from you Rose. I hope you are doing good!

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I would love to hear from you!