A new smart tool technology that allows surgeons to perform complex movements deep inside the abdomen was used for the first time in the U.S. this month during two procedures performed by UBMD Surgery’s Steven Schwaitzberg, MD and Alan Posner, MD, according to a UB News Release.
Dr. Schwaitzberg has assisted the HandX design team, providing important feedback on design features and usability. A consultant for Human Xtensions and other companies focused on minimally invasive surgical techniques, Schwaitzberg has pioneered the clinical use of advanced instrumentation in surgery in order to lessen recovery times and improve clinical outcomes.
Dr. Posner has done one of the first dozen cases with this handheld device:
The first procedure was a hernia operation called a laparoscopic or minimally invasive TAPP (transabdominal preperitoneal)an inguinal hernia. Hernia operations are some of the most commonly performed surgeries, but this one was a special case, according to Alan R. Posner, MD, clinical assistant professor of surgery in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo, who performed the procedure with Steven D. Schwaitzberg, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Surgery in the Jacobs School and director of surgical programs at Kaleida Health.
The new technology, HandX, was used to close the peritoneum, the abdominal cavity, after the hernia repair and placement of surgical mesh. “This case was harder than usual,” said Posner. “Scar tissue in the abdomen forced us to change our original operative plan. The articulation of the device made suturing possible. Without the HandX, it would have been very difficult.”
Dr. Schwaitzberg is President of UBMD Surgery and Chair of the Department of Surgery at UB. Dr. Posner is a Surgeon and an Assistant Professor.
Read the complete news article “New smart tool surgery technology has it’s U.S. debut in Buffalo”
