increase case costs,
according to Dr.
Senior.
"The evidence is
mounting that
patients who receive
the stents do very
well after surgery,
but questions remain
about whether they
do better than
patients who receive
oral steroids," says
Dr. Senior. "One
clear benefit, howev-
er, is that the stents
reduce use of oral steroids and associated side effects that can have a
particularly negative impact in opioid-sensitive patients. Stents pro-
vide patients with the benefits of post-op steroid therapy without risk
of suffering any of the systemic side effects."
Coming soon
Intraoperative MRI and CT are increasing the ability to have real-time
image-guidance technology, and robotics will offer significant possibili-
ties in the future, according to Dr. Senior. Specifically, he thinks
"image-guidance technology will create boundaries for dissection, and
robots will work within those physical limits." He loosely, and light-
heartedly, equates the technology to the childhood game "Operation,"
which buzzed a warning when the forceps touched the edge of the cav-
O C T O B E R 2 0 1 7 • O U T PA T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T • 1 0 5
Image-guided technology makes
surgical techniques easier to apply.
