New research suggests that heart bypass surgery assisted by robots can lead to fewer complications and a shorter hospital stay for patients.
Economically, the use of a surgical robot increases the cost of bypass surgery by around $8000 but these costs are offset by shorter – therefore cheaper – hospital stays.
Speaking about the findings, Stephen T. Bartlett, M.D – one of the study’s authors - commented: “These findings are significant because payers are considering linking reimbursement for coronary artery bypass surgery to patient outcomes. Our study shows that there are health benefits to patients from the minimally invasive approach, both in terms of a shorter recovery and also looking at the function of the bypass graft months after the surgery.”
The robot featured in the study – DaVinci – is normally used for prostate cancer surgery but rarely for bypass surgery.
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Date Published: April 28, 2008
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