SPONSORED FEATURE
Hi-tech lasers and robots bring
ENT surgery to the next level
Dr Vyas performing surgery using the The Medrobotics Flex System
Surgical odyssey in space age
For the most part of the 20th century, ENT surgery
was fairly rudimentary in its application. Access to
the ear, nose and throat was hindered by the lack
of equipment that could illuminate these small and
poorly visualisable orifices with an added feature of
secretions such as saliva, mucus and in the surgical
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context – blood and pus. In addition, there was always
the challenge of an altered anatomy from the very
pathology that was being treated.
Given the intricacies surrounding the head and
neck with its plethora of important nerves, arteries and
structures, the need to be able to magnify the operative
field and minimise the size of the instruments to fit into
the field became the necessity that mothered these
inventions.
Lasers
Nobel Laureate Albert Einstein postulated the ability to
amplify light by the stimulation of radiation emissions
(“laser” is an acronym for “light amplification by the
stimulated emission of radiation”) almost a century
ago. It was not until Theodore Maiman, an American
engineer designed the progenitor of the laser –
utilising microwaves instead of light (the “maser”)
and thereafter using a crystal of ruby to create light
amplification, that the first solid state laser was
invented. Further development of lasers allowed for
cheaper materials to be used as the media for light
amplification. Indian scientist Dr Kumar Patel’s seminal
work at Bell Laboratories in the United States resulted
in the development of the now ubiquitous carbon
dioxide (CO2) laser.
GlobalHealthAndTravel.com
T
HE last five decades have witnessed several
advances in otolaryngology (ear, nose and
throat surgery). The development of a variety
of highly specialised technologies, designed by
engineers to be used by ENT surgeons to deliver
better treatment for their patients, has been the driving
force behind minimally invasive surgery for benign and
malignant conditions requiring surgery with or without
reconstruction of the head and neck.
The impact these engineering feats have had are
quite staggering on the reduction of disfigurement to
the individual, concomitant collateral injury to structures
uninvolved and, most importantly, quality of life. The ENT
surgeon has, quite simply put, a rather important role in
aiming to preserve bodily functions that are often taken
for granted – such as breathing, speaking, swallowing
and the majority of the “special senses” which include
hearing, balance, smell and taste.