More than 140 people died because of operations conducted by robots
Last reviewed: 16.10.2021
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Over thirteen years, due to robotic surgeons, more than 140 people died. As the statistics show, robotic interventions pose a great danger to human health and life, especially during surgical intervention on the neck, head, heart (in such cases, mortality is 10 times higher, in comparison with other types of operations). Such data were published on the website of the library of one of the largest US universities from the Ivy League.
The study was conducted by specialists in one of the largest clinics in the United States, located in Illinois (Chicago). Experts have studied the risks of robotic surgery based on the data of the Sanitary Inspection of the quality of medicines and products. The management database contains data on all unsuccessful cases that occurred during operations conducted by robots, as well as reports of medical centers that are provided on a voluntary basis.
In the process of studying the data, specialists found that in 1500 reports out of 10 000 there is information about the serious consequences that occurred after robotic surgical interventions. At the same time, experts note that the figures can be much higher, since the management statistics are not complete. In the course of the work, experts noted several types of the most dangerous actions of robotic machines, including possible ignition, sparking, which damaged 193 patients, accidental ingress of parts of the robot or their parts into the patient's body cavity (burnt, broken, etc.), which harmed more than 100 patients and resulted in 1 death, non-driven movement of technology, which resulted in 2 deaths, as well as system errors (for example, video loss), which caused an incorrect operation in more than 800 cases.
For thirteen years (from 2000 to 2013), due to robotic surgical interventions, 144 people died, 60% of all deaths were due to equipment malfunction, the rest due to the human factor (surgeon) and the overall risk of such surgery.
Also, experts noted that in the total number of surgical interventions since 2007, the proportion of unsuccessfully performed operations remains unchanged.
In addition, experts stressed that they did not compare the number of complications that arise after surgical interventions conducted by a robot and a person.
Two years ago, a similar study was conducted by physicians from the University of D. Hopkins. The specialists analyzed more than 240 thousand reports on colectomy (removal of part of the intestine), which were conducted in the clinics of the United States. As a result, experts noted that robotic operations in terms of the number of complications, mortality and time of postoperative hospital stay are not very different from the widely used method of medicine - laparoscopy (operation carried out through small - up to 1.5 cm - holes).
At the same time, the robotic operation costs the patients on average three thousand dollars more expensive, in comparison with the services of the surgeon.
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