Robot Performs First-Ever Surgery Inside Human Eye

[Guest Nicole]

The technique is being called "a vision of eye surgery in the future." 

 

The technique is being called "a vision of eye surgery in the future." air009/Shutterstock

In a medical first, surgeons have used a robot to operate inside the human eye, greatly improving the accuracy of a delicate surgery to remove fine membrane growth on the retina. Such growth distorts vision and, if left unchecked, can lead to blindness in the affected eye.

Currently, doctors perform this common eye surgery without robots. But given the delicate nature of the retina and the narrowness of the opening in which to operate, even highly skilled surgeons can cut too deeply and cause small amounts of hemorrhaging and scarring, potentially leading to other forms of visual impairment, according to the researchers who tested out the new robotic surgery in a small trial. The pulsing of blood through the surgeon's hands is enough to affect the accuracy of the cut, the researchers said.

In the trial, at a hospital in the United Kingdom, surgeons performed the membrane-removal surgery on 12 patients; six of those patients underwent the traditional procedure, and six underwent the new robotic technique. Those patients in the robot group experienced significantly fewer hemorrhages and less damage to the retina, the findings showed.

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[James Thomas Rook Jr.]

Having had many eye surgeries, which were painless, but I was still awake and somewhat awake ..... I hate it when they have that military powered searchlight shining directly in your eye, and you hear the doctor say " ... oops ...".