US cancer patient dies after surgical robot burns organs

The lawsuit claims the robot burned a hole in her small intestine. (representative picture)

A U.S. man is suing a medical manufacturer, claiming its surgical robot burned a hole in his wife’s organ while treating her for colon cancer, killing her, The Washington Post reported. new york post. The robot burned a hole in her small intestine, requiring additional medical intervention, the lawsuit states.

Sandra Sultzer’s husband, Harvey Sultzer, filed a complaint against Intuitive Surgical on February 6, 2024, alleging that his wife was injured as a result of a procedure performed using their surgical robot Health problems arise. According to the lawsuit, the woman underwent surgery at Baptist Health Boca Raton Regional Hospital in September 2021 to treat her colon cancer with a multi-arm, remote-controlled da Vinci robot.

According to the company, the device is advertised as “capable of exceeding the precision of the human hand” and is “designed to provide surgeons with natural dexterity when operating through small incisions,” allowing for minimally invasive surgery.

Ms. Sulzer’s death in February 2022 “was a direct and proximate result of the injuries she sustained following the surgery,” according to the lawsuit.

The company knew the robot had insulation problems that could cause damage to its internal organs but failed to inform the family, the lawsuit alleges. It added that the company had received thousands of reports of injuries and defects related to the robots. However, they “underreported” these conditions to the Food and Drug Administration.

The lawsuit also claims that the company failed to adequately train doctors to use the da Vinci system and sold its robots to hospitals that lacked experience with robotic surgery. Mr. Sulzer is suing IS, seeking “more than $75,000 in damages for negligence, product liability including design defects and failure to warn, loss of consortium and punitive damages.”

The da Vinci system is one of the earliest surgical robots, launched in 1999 by IS. After receiving FDA approval a year later, the device was accused of numerous flaws.