daVinci Safe in the Obese
Surgical robot makes prostate removal safe for obese men
Source: News-Medical.Net
"The use of a robotic system could make surgery for prostate cancer an option for thousands of obese men who might otherwise be turned down, report researchers from the University of Chicago in the April 2006 issue of the journal Urology."
I, and I think Dr. Savatta, would agree that one can operate with a robot on the obese and it is sometimes easier than an open.
"Patients were divided into three groups according to weight. Group one consisted of 39 men with a normal body mass index (BMI) of 25 or less. Group two included 65 overweight men, with a BMI between 25.1 and 30. Group 3 contained 46 obese men with a BMI over 30, including three men over 40 and one over 50.
The only statistically significant differences noted between the groups were that the operation took, on average, 60 minutes longer and blood loss was 70cc (2.4 ounces) higher in the obese patients. Otherwise results were similar for all three groups in terms of complications, hospital stay, cancer control and resumption of urinary control and sexual activity.
"We found," the authors wrote, that this operation "can be completed safely in overweight and obese patients, with results similar to those in a cohort of normal-weight patients.""
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Comments
The nice thing about this study is that in the past obese patient were excluded from surgery,
now they have choices like normal weight patients.
Posted by: Arieh Shalhav | May 8, 2006 12:11 PM