Dr. Richard Lazzaro ’84 delivered a talk about robotic surgery and shared where he envisions the field of surgery progressing in the future and his journey since graduating from Union. The talk took place on Monday, April 23 in Reamer Auditorium. Beforehand he also presented the Da Vinci Surgical System and allowed students to test drive it in the Wold Atrium.
The Da Vinci Surgical system got off the ground as a project through Stanford, International Business Machines (IBM) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for the United States Department of Defense, intending create a robotic surgeon which would allow for remote battlefield surgery without putting surgeons in harm’s way. Lazzaro began with some broad remarks about the current state of robotic surgery and its future.
He compared surgery to driving a Ferrari at full speed down the Stelvio Pass, a mountain pass through the Italian Alps with 48 hair-pin turns.
In his eyes, using the Da Vinci Surgical System is like driving this pass at night with an infrared camera, allowing the surgeon to see from a different perspective, which might be even more effective at accomplishing the task at hand.
Lazzaro added that the field of surgery’s future lies in technological advances. These advances range from further work on the Da Vinci Surgical System to improved surgical filming techniques, which would result in a reference database of surgical procedures that could be utilized during a surgery if any unforeseen problems emerge.
It was determined that the robot would have arms to perform the necessary actions.
After researching a variety of designs for human like arms, the researchers eventually settled upon a design by Leonardo da Vinci.
The designs, made in 1495, rediscovered in the 1950s, of da Vinci’s robot built to resemble a soldier in an effort to defend Milan from attackers.
While it is not known if da Vinci built a prototype at the time, later prototypes have been built and the design turned out to be fully functional.
It is from this design choice that that Da Vinci Surgical System gets its name.
Lazzaro foresees surgical videos and digital modeling playing an important role in the surgical education process, going as far as envisioning a digital map for every surgical operation to allow the surgeon to “see the operation [they] are about to do, like Google Maps.”
Lazzaro also advocated for the recording of operations to allow for surgeons to view the video later just as sports players watch film of their past games as a method by which to improve.
Lazzaro also spent time reflecting on his time as Union and what he took away fromhis time here.
In one shared anecdote, he remembered sitting at graduation with his friends somewhat contemplating Union Bicentennial, which was just 11 years away, but also realizing that “we had just finished something priceless, just like the Mastercard commercial.”
He concluded by sharing the seven principles he learned at Union and has carried through his life: say yes, keep an open mind, be ready to adapt and change, take
manageable risks, self reflect and measure your performance, get out of silos and share your knowledge to leave a legacy of a great career and family.