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Little boys and robots were made for each other. Claudiu Fedorca’s favorite robot is the one Dr. Michael Erhard used to save his kidney.
Early last spring Claudiu, age 5, began running a fever and complained of a sore throat and stomach pain. His pediatrician diagnosed an ear infection. After a two-week course of antibiotics, Claudiu’s fever persisted, so he was given a different medicine. Finally his ear infection and sore throat were cured, yet the fever and belly pain continued. Very concerned, his pediatrician ordered an ultrasound. Following this test, the pediatrician called. Speaking in urgent tones, he described the test results: one of Claudiu’s kidneys was enlarged for unknown reasons and it was imperative that he be admitted to Wolfson Children’s Hospital immediately.
In this situation, it is vital to initiate treating the child. Claudiu’s pediatrician called Dr. Michael Erhard, Chief of Surgery at Wolfson Children’s Hospital. Erhard’s immediate assessment was an obstruction of the kidney with infection present. Until the infection cleared, it would be impossible to diagnose Claudiu’s underlying problem. “You have to act within 24 hours or so to prevent further damage.” states Dr. Erhard, “Since Claudiu was quite ill, I put in a temporary stent.” This procedure became more complicated than usual when it was found that Claudiu’s affected kidney had two ureters draining to his bladder.
As soon as the infection was gone, further testing enabled Dr. Erhard to see the cause of the blockage: the kidney was draped over blood vessels, causing them to kink the ureters. This problem is not easily corrected because of the fragile tissue, the small-scale of the working space - roughly the size of an Oreo cookie, and the spaghetti-like size of the ureters. Fortunately, from a surgical perspective, robotics are tailor-made for surgery like Claudiu’s.
Wolfson Children’s daVinci Robot enables the surgeon to perform minimally invasive surgery for complex operations. Imagine major surgery performed through the smallest of incisions. The robot controlled by the surgeon uses tiny instrument tips: claws, graspers, clips, plier-like tools that hold needles and can also cut sutures. - all are inserted through conventional laparoscopic surgery incisions. Working on Claudiu from a console across the room, Dr. Erhard used maneuverable arm fittings equipped with button controls and foot pedals to manipulate the robotic arms and instruments that arced over Claudiu’s body. Assisted by table-side doctors, Dr. Erhard spent hours carefully reconfiguring the vessels whose tangled arrangement threatened Claudiu’s health.
“He was only in the hospital for two days after the surgery”, reports Gheorghe Fedorca, with amazement. Although his stay was brief, Claudiu’s experience was one that made a lasting impression on him and his parents: the swift diagnosis and action, the kindness of the staff, and the miraculous robotics-assisted surgery. It all affirmed the incalculable value of physicians and nurses with the highest expertise, in a setting supplied with the most current technology - Wolfson Children’s Hospital.
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