Deployment and early experience with remote-presence patient care in a community hospital.

BACKGROUND: The introduction of the RP6 (InTouch Health, Santa Barbara, CA, USA) remote-presence "robot" appears to offer a useful telemedicine device. The authors describe the deployment and early experience with the RP6 in a community hospital and provided a live demonstration of the system on April 16, 2005 during the Emerging Technologies Session of the 2005 SAGES Meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. METHODS: The RP6 is a 5-ft 4-in. tall, 215-pound robot that can be remotely controlled from an appropriately configured computer located anywhere on the Internet (i.e., on this planet). The system is composed of a control station (a computer at the central station), a mechanical robot, a wireless network (at the remote facility: the hospital), and a high-speed Internet connection at both the remote (hospital) and central locations. The robot itself houses a rechargeable power supply. Its hardware and software allows communication over the Internet with the central station, interpretation of commands from the central station, and conversion of the commands into mechanical and nonmechanical actions at the remote location, which are communicated back to the central station over the Internet. The RP6 system allows the central party (e.g., physician) to control the movements of the robot itself, see and hear at the remote location (hospital), and be seen and heard at the remote location (hospital) while not physically there. RESULTS: Deployment of the RP6 system at the hospital was accomplished in less than a day. The wireless network at the institution was already in place. The control station setup time ranged from 1 to 4 h and was dependent primarily on the quality of the Internet connection (bandwidth) at the remote locations. Patients who visited with the RP6 on their discharge day could be discharged more than 4 h earlier than with conventional visits, thereby freeing up hospital beds on a busy med-surg floor. Patient visits during "off hours" (nights and weekends) were three times more efficient than conventional visits during these times (20 min per visit vs 40-min round trip travel + 20-min visit). Patients and nursing personnel both expressed tremendous satisfaction with the remote-presence interaction. CONCLUSIONS: The authors' early experience suggests a significant benefit to patients, hospitals, and physicians with the use of RP6. The implications for future development are enormous.

Laparoscopic common bile duct exploration.

BACKGROUND: Herein I describe my >12-year experience with laparoscopic common bile duct exploration (LCBDE). METHODS: From 21 September 1989 through 31 December 2001, 3,580 patients presented with symptomatic biliary tract disease. Laparoscopic cholecystecomy (LC) was attempted in 3,544 of them (99.1%) and completed in 3,527 (99.5%). Laparoscopic cholangiograms (IOC) were performed in 3,417 patients (96.4%); in 344 cases (9.7%), the IOC was abnormal. Forty-nine patients (1.4%) underwent preoperative endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), and 33 patients (0.9%) underwent postoperative ERCP. LCBDE was attempted in 326 cases and completed in 321 (98.5%). It was successful in clearing the duct in 317 of the 344 patients with abnormal cholangiograms (92.2%). RESULTS: The mean operating time for all patients undergoing LC with or without cholangiograms or LCBDE or other additional surgery was 56.9 min. Mean length of stay was 22.1 h. The mean operating time for LC only patients ( n = 2530)--that is, those not undergoing LCBDE or any other additional procedure--was 47.6 min; their mean postoperative length of stay was 17.2 h. Ductal exploration was performed via the cystic duct in 269 patients, (82.5%) and through a choledochotomy in 57 patients (17.5%). T-tubes were used in patients in whom there was concern for possible retained debris or stones, distal spasm, pancreatitis, or general poor tissue quality secondary to malnutrition or infection. In cases where choledochotomy was used, a T-tube was placed in 38 patients (67%), and primary closure without a T-tube was done in 19 (33%). There were no complications in the group of patients who underwent choledochotomy and primary ductal closure without T-tube placement or in the group in whom T-tubes were placed. CONCLUSIONS: Common bile duct (CBD) stones still occur in 10% of patients. These stones are identified by IOC. IOC can be performed in >96.4% of cases of LC. LCBDE was successful in clearing these stones in 97.2% of patients in whom it was attempted and in 92.2% of all patients with normal IOCs. Most LCBDEs in this series were performed via the cystic duct because of the stone characteristics and ductal anatomy. Selective laparoscopic placement of T-tubes in patients requiring choledochotomy (67%) appears to be a safe and effective alternative to routine T-tube drainage of the ductal system. ERCP, which was required for 5.8% of patients with abnormal cholangiograms, and open CBDE, which was used in 2.0%, still play an important role in the management of common bile duct pathology. The role of ERCP, with or without sphincterotomy, has returned to its status in the prelaparoscopic era. LCBDE may be employed successfully in the vast majority of patients harboring CBD stones.

Laparoscopic surgery: surgical education in the People's Republic of China.

In 1991, because of the international emphasis on laparoscopic surgery, a large contingency of surgeons took on the task of introducing laparoscopy to the People's Republic of China. This trip was a technological feat, since all of the equipment and instrumentation had to be carried into the country. This necessitated a major coordinated effort among professional teaching staff and industry representatives with their transported equipment. This unique educational opportunity is detailed in this article, which highlights, in particular, the contrast between the new "high-tech" surgery and the reality of a developing country.

Clinical results of common bile duct exploration.

Laparoscopic common bile duct exploration has been successfully performed in hundreds of patients throughout the world since early 1990. The author reviews his personal experience with this procedure and compares it with the experience of others as reported in the literature. A variety of methods of managing common duct pathology has been employed. These include balloon-catheter manipulation, fluoroscopically-guided basket extraction, and choledochoscopy. The relative contributions of each of these modalities to the total framework of laparoscopic treatment of common bile duct stones is presented. By these techniques, 83 out of 86 patients had their common duct explored successfully. The author concludes that, based on accumulated experience, most, if not all, common duct stones can be treated and/or removed laparoscopically. In more than 90% of the cases, this can be accomplished through a cystic duct approach, although direct access to the common duct via choledochotomy is also possible. A rational protocol for management of common duct pathology is presented.

Laparoscopic approach to common duct pathology.

The author reviews his experience with the laparoscopic management of common duct pathology and compares it with the experience of others as reported in the literature. Routine intraoperative cholangiography is advocated. A variety of methods of managing common duct stones laparoscopically is presented. These include balloon-catheter manipulation, fluoroscopically guided basket extraction, and choledochoscopic evaluation and removal of stones. The accumulated experience indicates that more than 90% of common duct stones can be removed laparoscopically via the cystic duct. This approach significantly reduces the need for either preoperative or postoperative endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. Although laparoscopic choledochotomy has been employed in a number of cases and can be performed with a high degree of safety and efficacy, it is needed only infrequently. This form of management results in decreased dependence upon T-tubes, thereby reducing postoperative morbidity and the length of hospitalization. A rational protocol for the management of common duct pathology is presented.

Laparoscopic approach to common duct pathology.

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy has revolutionized the surgical approach to gallbladder pathology. Since it was first introduced in France in 1987, and then subsequently in the United States in 1988, thousands of operations have been performed successfully. Less frequently, laparoscopic evaluation of the biliary ductal system, either by cholangiography or choledochoscopy, has been performed. Laparoscopic common duct exploration presents the next challenge for the biliary tract surgeon. This article reviews the author's early experience with laparoscopic biliary ductal evaluation, choledochoscopy, and removal of common duct stones. A suggested approach to ductal pathology is proposed.