mally invasive surgery despite hav-
ing little or no experience with
laparoscopic hernia repair, which is
difficult to master. You need up to
500 laparoscopic inguinal hernia
cases under your belt before you
can get consistently good out-
comes. With a robot, you can
become proficient in as few as 50.
We have surgeons in our hospital
who conceptually know how to do
laparoscopic inguinal hernia, but
simply never chose to offer it
because the robot is so much easi-
er to master.
The arms of a robot can work at deeper lengths and sharper angles
than the straight sticks of a laparoscope. For that reason, you'll notice
that the size and location of the scars differ in a robotics case as com-
pared to a laparoscopic one. The robot's scars are farther away, far-
ther apart and larger (8mm) than a laparoscope's (5mm).
Economic benefits
In the absence of competition, robots remain a luxury that most
outpatient surgery centers and many hospitals can't afford. The
newest models cost around $2 million to buy and around $100,000
per year to maintain.
But there are undeniable economic benefits to robotic hernias.
Laparoscopy requires thousands of dollars of supplies — disposable
instruments, a tacker fixation device, space makers and, of course,
expensive mesh. With robotics, you need none of those things.
1 0 6 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 9
• BATTLE SCARS See the forehead crease and the smile?
Yes, Dr. Towfigh just completed a robotics case.
Beverly
Hills
Hernia
Center
