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JACKSON, Tenn. (AP) — Dr. Christopher Welsch had plans ahead of time to attend a health conference earlier this summer in Barcelona.
Welsch uses robotic technology in his gynecology practice at The Jackson Clinic, and he sent a note to the conference organizer offering to make a presentation on it. The organizer sent a note back saying no thanks, the presentations were already set.
And then Welsch got another email from the organizer asking if he'd make the presentation. By then Welsch had just a couple weeks left to get ready.
"Thankfully, I already had the video on DVD. I just had to edit it," Welsch said with a laugh.
Welsch was one of only three American doctors to present at the June event for the Society of European Robotic Gynaecological Surgery, which featured professionals from many countries throughout Europe and even one from Korea.
"It was a really neat conference because it allowed me, as someone used to the American medical care system, to see how people do things elsewhere, to see how their health care systems work, but also how they deliver care to patients, specific surgical techniques or nuances they may have discovered that would help us in the care of our patients here," Welsch said.
Welsch was surprised to learn how much longer patients in Europe tend to stay in a hospital than in the United States, especially considering the high cost.
"What they explained to me is some of those are societal expectations and some of those are actually government-driven, that the government will take money back from a hospital, or not pay a hospital as much, if they don't keep the patient in for a certain number of days, which is a very different system than we have here," Welsch said.
Before his presentation, Welsch's daughter helped him edit over an hour of video into 10 minutes of clips from an unusual but ultimately successful surgery last fall for which robotic technology was particularly helpful in keeping the patient safe and repairing a defect to minimize future risk.
Ectopic pregnancies occur when a fertilized egg does not develop in the uterus, as it should, but somewhere else. In such cases, the fetus cannot progress to birth and the woman's life can be endangered.
In the case last fall, though, an egg got stuck in the scar from a woman's earlier Caesarean section. Welsch said it's the only instance he can recall in the 17 years he has been in Jackson, and though such situations are documented they are incredibly unusual.
"So it's a very uncommon thing to encounter, but something that was almost an ideal application for this miniaturized, highly precise surgical technology where we can see things in three-dimensional, high-definition vision and then use these miniaturized instruments to very gently and delicately operate around the tissue."
The technology is the Intuitive Surgical da Vinci robotic system. Welsch describes the system as an evolution of the tools doctors have to do surgery, and he noted urologists, cardiologists, general surgeons and other doctors use it.
Welsch has done over 700 robotic surgeries for hysterectomies, treating ovarian cysts and scar tissue and other instances.
"Just from a surgical perspective, having this type of device that enhances our ability as surgeons and allows us to perform surgery better and safer for patients I think has been a win-win all around."
He uses hand controllers and foot pedals to control the movement of miniature devices, which act as hands and arms at the site of the procedure. There is a tiny camera attached to the device, so Welsch can see everything he needs to see on a screen in front of him.
"Rather than having your hands inside a patient, you can have these small instruments that behave exactly as you want your hands to behave," he said.
Welsch, a native of the Chicago suburbs, has used the robotic technology along with several of his colleagues at The Jackson Clinic since 2009.
"One of the reasons I went into OB/GYN (work) is because I enjoy dealing with people one on one, but also I enjoy the technical aspects of surgery, and Obstetrics and Gynecology allows me to do both," Welsch said.
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Information from: The Jackson Sun, http://www.jacksonsun.com
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