The da Vinci surgical robot, which was developed in the US, allows a single surgeon to perform a surgery using 3 robotic arms and an endoscope simultaneously. Difficulties in manipulating it have meant most doctors are unable to make full use of it. But Japanese doctors have come up with a way around this that has also led to a drop in surgical complications. There was a 40% risk of complications such as a loss of voice with esophageal cancer, but that's dropped to 10%. We report on how the robot is allowing safer surgeries.
