The Operating Theatre Journal - Journal - Page 18
Evolving heart surgery education is crucial to equip
surgeons with the skills to match the technology
An eminent heart surgeon claims the rapid development of transcatheter surgical techniques represent the biggest short
and medium-term challenges – and the most exciting innovation, for heart surgeons today.
Nine of “the world’s most dif昀椀cult” recipes
are aimed at helping surgeons practice their
dexterity skills and mental agility outside
of the operating room in an innovative,
challenging yet fun way.
Dr. Nirav C Patel MD, the Director of Robotic
Surgery for Northwell Health, and Vice
Chairman of Cardiovascular and Thoracic
Surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital, both in New
York, explains that similarly to transcatheter
techniques, robotic surgery can be performed
without the need to open the chest. Robotic
surgery can offer numerous bene昀椀ts including
high-de昀椀nition visuals of the area being
treated, micro-precise movements for greater
accuracy and steady instrument control that
minimizes any human hand tremors. Robotic
surgeries are also by their very nature
less invasive than traditional open-heart
techniques, stresses Dr Patel.
He says: “A lot of procedures we are now
doing surgically, such as some of the valve
replacements and valve repairs, are being
performed transcatheter because of the
tremendous innovation in this space, as well as
the excellent results in some of the outcomes
of the newer technologies.”
He stresses that while traditional surgical skills
do and will continue to apply as techniques
advance at pace, the newest generations of
heart surgeons will need a unique combination
of both physical and mental dexterity coupled
with impeccable eye-to-hand co-ordination.
The importance of dexterity training will
remain despite innovation in technology.
To champion the call to action, Dr. Patel has
joined forces with New York-based, Michelinstarred chef Fredrik Berselius and global
MedTech provider Getinge, to develop an
innovative training tool ‘The Heart Surgeon’s
Cookbook’.
“It’s a different kind of dexterity for
transcatheter and robotic surgical work,”
explains Dr. Patel, adding: “For instance, I grew
up in India, where I’d never played a video
game. But doing robotic surgery is almost like
playing a video game on a console in terms of
some of the skills needed. It requires hand-toeye coordination – looking at the screen but
using your hands to perform the tasks.”
He also underlines that the heart surgeons
of tomorrow are able to adopt digital skills
much faster than previous generations, and
how they learn has also changed: “When I was
junior surgeon, to prepare for a procedure I
relied on two dimensional photographs and
diagrams.
Today operative videos can even be found
on YouTube so trainees can watch videos
of procedures to prepare In fact, newer
innovations such as virtual reality are being
used to help train the next generation of
surgeons. I think incorporating these virtual
platforms is the way to attract the younger
generations and train them to become
surgeons of the future.”
He also stresses that as ‘digital native’ teens
become the next generation of heart surgeons,
medical education will need to adapt to “the
way newer students are hardwired”.
However, Dr. Patel also warns that despite the
rise of innovative surgical techniques, there
is no substitute for hard work, skills practice,
and the innate dexterity that heart surgery
requires.
“You could be very bright, but you brain has to
connect with your 昀椀ngers or hand to execute
the right movements,” he says, adding that
training and maintaining dexterity is essential
for all surgeons, regardless of what type of
surgery they are performing.
Carsten Blecker, Chief Commercial Of昀椀cer
at Getinge and dentist by training knows
well how important the manual skills and
continuous practice of the latter are for any
surgeon, Carsten adds:
“The Heart Surgeon’s Cookbook celebrates the
phenomenal skills of surgeons and is a great
tool to put into practice one’s dexterity”.
Carsten continues: “The skill and precision
of Dr. Patel and Chef Fredrik in developing
and creating recipes for the cookbook is
inspirational; we’re making it available to
surgeons globally so that everyone can use it
to practice their skills, have fun and create
sophisticated dishes for family and friends.”
The Heart Surgeon’s Cookbook celebrates
their phenomenal skills, whilst also being a
great training tool. Surgeon’s consistently
practice their skills – either in the operating
room or at home, to maintain both their focus,
physical and mental dexterity. This cookbook
can help them to do that in an innovative and
creative way.
The Heart Surgeon’s Cookbook recipes
developed by Fredrik and Dr. Patel include,
but are not limited to:
• King昀椀sh Rose with Green Gooseberry
• Roasted Quail with Truf昀氀e and Ramp
• Venison and Savoy Cabbage
• Sea Scallop and Turnip in Warm Broth
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ROBOTIC SURGERY PIONEER DISTALMOTION PARTNERS WITH PROXIMIE
TO EXTEND SURGICAL EXCELLENCE GLOBALLY
Distalmotion - a pioneer in surgical robotics, is partnering with
Proximie, the leading global health technology platform digitizing
operating rooms (ORs), to extend its ground-breaking Dexter® robotic
surgery platform globally.
this partnership enables the seamless exchange of knowledge and
learnings between surgeons, as well being able to exchange information
between surgeons and Distalmotion, fostering greater collaboration to
deliver the highest quality surgical care.
The collaboration provides Distalmotion customers with access to
Proximie’s healthcare platform, delivering telepresence, content
management, and data driven insights. With Proximie, surgeon
expertise and OR data can be easily shared from anywhere, generating
new insights to help improve patient outcomes and productivity.
Greg Roche, CEO of Distalmotion, shared his excitement about the
partnership, stating, “Our collaboration with Proximie represents a
stride forward in our mission to empower robotic surgery by providing
more hospitals, surgeons, and patients access to robotic excellence.
By integrating Proximie’s platform, we are creating an ecosystem that
enables greater support and innovation, elevating the standard of
care.”
Proximie’s advanced platform acts as a powerful tool for Distalmotion,
signi昀椀cantly extending the reach of surgeon expertise and experience.
With the combination of Distalmotion’s Dexter® and Proximie systems,
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Nadine Hachach-Haram, Founder and CEO of Proximie added, “We
are delighted to announce our partnership with Distalmotion, as we
collaborate to train more surgeons to use the Dexter system - thus
improving patient outcomes and surgical productivity.
The partnership is another step in our journey of digitising global ORs,
enhancing patient care and providing the tools to improve the quality
of surgery globally. We are hugely excited about the potential impact
of this partnership and look forward to working with Distalmotion as
we provide a valuable solution to increase accessibility to advanced
robotic surgeries.”
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