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hand, wrist and arm into robotic-like
movements that can be used to per-
form less complex minimally invasive
procedures. Its sensitive controls
respond to the surgeon's slightest
movements. In or out, up or down, left or right, wherever the surgeon
moves his hand and wrist, the tip of the instrument moves in unison
— unlike traditional straight-stick laparoscopic instruments that move
in the opposite direction of the surgeon's hand. Plus, it can rotate or
roll infinitely, giving surgeons the same ability to sew laparoscopically
as a robot.
Yes, a robot arm also moves like a surgeon's wrist, but it takes a $2
million robot on the back end to drive it. Only a handful of surgeons
are using FlexDex during a limited rollout. One of them is Kent
Bowden, DO, a general surgeon at Munson Healthcare Cadillac
(Mich.) Hospital. He's used it in about 20 cases, including inguinal and
ventral hernias and to repair a colonic serosal tear.
"It makes laparoscopic surgery more like open surgery," says Dr.
Bowden. "It give you so much flexibility. Plus, no additional staff is
needed, no consoles, no huge capital expenses."
FlexDex is currently used for small incisions and stitching, but
with full 360-degree rotation and 180-degree angulation, Dr. Bowden
says he's excited to see where this technology goes next. "Cautery?
Dissection? This could be used with every type of laparoscopic tool:
grasper, dissectors, scissors. The way this device moves is the most
novel I've ever seen."
Shirin Towfigh, MD, FACS, a hernia and laparoscopic specialist at
the Beverly Hills (Calif.) Hernia Center, sampled FlexDex at the
