What do you call a robot that can perform surgery? Surgio, of course! That was the winning entry in Bay Area Hospital’s contest to name its da Vinci Surgical System robot. It came from two separate classes of local fourth-graders, which coincidentally chose the same name despite working independently. Thirteen local classes submitted nominations for the robotic device, which has been helping human surgeons at Bay Area Hospital since September. The winners are Mr. James Elwell’s class at Lighthouse School in North Bend, and Ms. Lisa Harnden’s class at Millicoma School in Coos Bay. The Lighthouse students submitted “Surgio,” and the Millicoma students offered a fancier version, “Surgio the Life Saver.” Other nominees included Dr. Robo, Surgitron and Rocky the Robot. The two winning classes will be invited to Bay Area Hospital for lunch and a visit with Surgio himself. The students will find Surgio to be a remarkable device but a poor conversationalist. Unlike TV and movie robots, the multi-armed da Vinci can’t walk, talk or shoot laser beams. What it can do is translate a human surgeon’s hand motions into precisely controlled manipulations of miniature instruments. Since Surgio’s debut in September, Drs. Steven Tersigni, Laurie Hamilton and John Muenchrath have performed a variety of surgical procedures with robotic assistance. Most recently, Tersigni performed Bay Area Hospital’s first “single-site” robotic surgery, removing a patient’s gall bladder through a single tiny incision. Robotic-assisted surgery, especially a single-incision procedure, can reduce blood loss, scarring, pain and recovery time. The single incision for a gall bladder can take place through the patient’s belly button, leaving the patient virtually scar-free. Additional surgeons will begin training with Surgio in January.
