Robot Surgeons Cause 144 Mid-Surgery Deaths

A new study found a growing problem on robots used in surgeries. A group of researchers discovered death rates during medical procedures involving robotic equipment and techniques increased since 2000 due to mid-surgery mechanical malfunctions.

Researchers from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Chicago's Rush University Medical Center conducted a study stating that surgery involving robots is far from perfect. Based on US Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, reports, the researchers found that a total of 8,061 counts of device malfunctions during robot-assisted surgeries caused death and injuries to patients.

The report, posted on Cornell University Library, stated that the said number was carried out from the total of more than 1.7 million robotic procedures recorded between January 2000 and December 2013, based on reports from hospitals, patients, device manufacturers submitted to FDA.

The study, conducted to evaluate the safety of surgical robots in the United States, found that the machines have already caused 144 deaths and more than 1,391 injuries during surgeries. The death and injuries were caused by problems in the mechanism of the machine, including unprecedented power down and incorrect movement, broken instruments falling into patients' bodies, electrical sparks causing tissue burns and system errors making surgery take longer than planned.

There were 1,166 cases of broken/burned parts falling into patients' bodies recorded that primarily contributed to 119 injuries and one death, while uncontrolled movements and spontaneous powering down of the machines are said to have caused 52 injuries and two deaths. Researchers added the loss of quality video feeds and/or reports of system error codes at the mid-surgery are said to have contributed to further 41 injuries and one death.

People undergoing surgeries involving their heart, lungs, head and/or neck are several times more likely to die than gynaecological and urological procedures, researchers stated. The most dangerous procedures recorded with the machines were cardiothoracic and head and neck surgeries, with 6.4 percent and 19.7 percent of negative results, respectively, followed by urology operations under 1.9 percent and gynaecological surgeries covering 1.4 percent.

Surgical robotic devices offer advantages to medical practice; surgeons can use tinier instruments to make smaller and more nimble cuts. With the process, patients could recover faster, with less risk of infection and the promise of almost unnoticeable scars.

The researchers then acknowledge that the data from the records of FDA do not determine whether the machines were directly responsible to the cases of the patients, as the robots were less commonly used with the aforementioned operations. The figures, noted in the report, represent only a small proportion of the total number of robotic procedures.

“Little or no information was provided in the adverse incident reports' about the cause of the majority of deaths, meaning they could be related to risks or complications inherent during surgery," the authors noted.

However, the authors stated that the number of injuries and deaths per procedure have remained relatively constant since 2007. In addition, due to the fact that the use of robotic systems is growing "exponentially," the researchers noted that the number of accidents may increase every year.

"Despite widespread adoption of robotic systems for minimally invasive surgery, a non-negligible number of technical difficulties and complications are still being experienced during procedures," the study states. The researchers then suggest that to tackle such problems, "adoption of advanced techniques in design and operation of robotic surgical systems may reduce these preventable incidents in the future."

To contact the writer, email: darwin.malicdem@ibtimes.tunemedia.biz