TELEROBOTIC SURGERY IS CLINICAL REALITY - CURRENT EXPERIENCE WITH TELEMENTORING IN ADULTS AND CHILDREN

A clinical telepresence surgical system was developed at The Johns Hop kins Bayview Hospital. Using both fiberoptic and coaxial cable, a cont rol room located within the hospital was connected to the telepresence operating room. Systems allowing remote surgical teaching included co ntinuous two-way audio communication, real-time laparoscopic and exter nal video imaging, remote telestration, and remote control of a roboti c arm designed to manipulate the laparoscope. Using this system, 27 op erations were performed in adults and children under the direction of a remote surgical mentor. There were no intraoperative or postoperativ e complications in this series of cases. Ail operations were successfu l. Telementoring was successful in 26 of the 27 cases. In one case, po or positioning of the robotic arm was responsible for a breakdown in t he remote surgical teaching process. Operative times for telepresence operations and traditionally mentored cases are compared. in summary, telementoring has proven to be a safe and potentially useful applicati on of telerobotic surgery.