Robots--a big advance, or a marketing tool?

[dentaltwin]

Usually, I think Vinay Prasad is a snarky punk. I tend to agree with him here, but then my cycling buddies well know me as a committed retrogrouch. What say you?

medpagetoday.com/opinion/vi...

[Tall_Allen]

Perioperative complications are lower with the robot, but they usually are not a big deal anyway. They created a "production line" for prostatectomies with disastrous results in the early 2000s (combined with PSA screening in the 1990s). This led to the equally disastrous USPSTF recommendation in 2012, which has since been reversed. Thank God that AS gained wider acceptance to counter the surge.

[dentaltwin in reply to Tall_Allen]

I suspect it has more to do with the operator than with the tool. The cliche is that you want to get a surgeon who's experienced with the robot. Now, I'm sure that you ALWAYS want a surgeon with a lot of procedures under his/her belt, in a facility that does high volume. But it seems to me that the learning curve is particularly stressed when a robot is used. (Full disclosure--my surgery was laparoscopic, but not robotic).

[Murk]

If you go with the highest rated and most experienced Urologist at a world renowned institution focused on this discipline, I would go with what they recommend but after I got a second opinion...

[dentaltwin in reply to Murk]

I have no problem with that--if you're going to be treated surgically. If you're doing due diligence, go to a radiological oncologist as well (something I didn't do, but probably should have).

[PCInPA in reply to Murk]

I totally agree, The person behind the knife or the robot is still the most critical factor. Unfortunately, the robot and his friends in big pharma spend billions in direct to consumer marketing every year. That is not permitted in most countries, but a very different story in the corporatocracy known as the USA. This puts intense pressure on medical professionals to provide the services their patients demand after being told to "talk to your doctor about robots and snake oil".

[jessatso in reply to PCInPA]

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