6 7
N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 4 | O U T P AT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E
can see things like blood flow under skin, or like the ureter through
the pelvic sidewall."
The OR of the future will be able to merge cameras with imaging
studies from CAT scans or MRIs in real time, allowing surgeons to see
through bones and skin, to see things they were never able to see
before.
"With computer-aided surgery, the CAT scan and the MRI could let
the computer know where the blood vessels are and stop your instru-
ment before you make a mistake," says Dr. Palter.
Will people continue to fight the inevitable? "If you look at the histo-
ry of technology in surgery, there are themes that echo through the
generations," says Dr. Palter. "First there's resistance to change; then
technology-enabled change lets you do things better, faster, cheaper
and easier; then people accept it and think it's the standard we've
always had and nothing will be better; and then the cycle starts over
again."
But as technology has sped up, people have become more open to
change. They've seen it in their computers, their cell phones, their TVs
and in the movies. There's no time to become complacent.
"People need to be aware these technologies are inevitably going to
replace what we have," says Dr. Palter. The challenge will be deter-
mining when added value meets decreasing costs.
"Just because you see better, that doesn't necessarily translate to
better outcomes," says Dr. Palter. "It will be more realistic, more com-
fortable and less fatiguing for the surgeon, and it will make surgery
easier. But the threshold to say it produces better outcomes for
patients is a very high bar to reach." OSM
E-mail
jb urg er@outpa tientsurg ery.net
.
S U R G I C A L V I D E O
