US-based Ghanaian surgeon develops robotic surgical equipment

Accra: Dr John de-Graft Johnson, a United States-based Ghanaian surgeon has developed a robotic surgical equipment that conducts surgery without using hands.He operated on a patient in June by making small incisions between the ribs using robotic arms to bypass multiple blocked arteries, extending the man's life for years.Speaking to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Tuesday, Dr de-Graft Johnson said the robotic assisted operation was an alternative to cutting open a patient's chest for open surgery.The veteran Ghanaian surgeon said for many patients the prospect of cracking open the chest for the conventional surgery was terrifying or at least sobering.'The patient may spend five to six days in the hospital after the surgery followed by a recovery period of six to eight weeks while the breastbone heals,' he said.Dr de-Graft Johnson said less pain and less blood were the other advantages of robotic-assisted operations.'I am a pretty big guy and need to make a big incision to get my hands Inside th e chest,' he said, adding that, he had always been open with patients about medical procedures.Dr de-G raft Johnson said with the operation the surgeon makes small incisions between the ribs to extend the robotic arms and a camera into the patient.He said he bypassed three coronary arteries for the first patient last month and the patient went home in two days.Dr de-Graft Johnson said the surgeons at the Doctors Medical Centre in the United States had used the Davinci Robotic Surgery (DRS) system for a range of general and specialised surgeries since 2007.'One advantage is the greater range of motion of the small robotic instrument and on top of that the magnificence of this robotic system is greater than the arms,' Dr de-Graft Johnson added.Source: Ghana News Agency