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Ann Thorac Surg 2007;84:714
© 2007 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons

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Correspondence

Robotic Surgery

Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, CII/26 Ansari Nagar, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi, 110029 India

(Email: asampath_kumar{at}hotmail.com).

To the Editor:

The article by Bonaros and colleagues [1] interested me for many reasons. These authors deserve our heartiest congratulations for their efforts and for this transparent publication. Primarily it is time for a reappraisal of the robotic surgical technique, especially in the developing nations. Our own observations [2] are in consonance with the comments of Dr Mack [3].

Basically any surgical technique for universal adaptability should be better or advantageous in comparison with existing techniques. Being just as good is perhaps not good enough for change. However in this report, by Bonaros and colleagues [1], the results suggest that the technique is indeed hazardous. Having completed the study, the authors would have done well to compare their robotic technique with their own conventional atrial septal defect closure technique. At our institution the average times for simple atrial septal defect closure are as follows:

Another equally important aspect is cost. The authors have not mentioned the difference in cost. For these very reasons, robotic surgery has not gained much interest among our own department faculty since acquiring it 2 years ago.

Finally, after their publication, would the authors or the institution continue to encourage robotic surgery for simple atrial septal defects?

	References

Top References

 

1. Bonaros N, Schachner T, Oehlinger A, et al. Robotically assisted totally endoscopic atrial septal defect repair: insights from operative times, learning curves, and clinical outcome Ann Thorac Surg 2006;82:687-694.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
2. Sampath Kumar A. In the fast lane Ind J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2003;19:135.
3. Mack M. Invited commentary Ann Thorac Surg 2006;82:693-694.[Free Full Text]

This article has been cited by other articles:

				N. Bonaros, T. Schachner, and J. Bonatti Reply Ann. Thorac. Surg., August 1, 2007; 84(2): 714 - 714. [Full Text] [PDF]

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Personal Folders Download to citation manager Author home page(s): Arkalgud Sampath Kumar Permission Requests Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Kumar, A. S. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Kumar, A. S. Related Collections Congenital - acyanotic Related Article