Dr. Nicholas Panetta, chief of the Plastic Surgery Institute at Tampa General Hospital and chair of the University of South Florida Health Morsani College of Medicine Department of Plastic Surgery, believes that investing in robotic technologies can dramatically improve the surgical experience.
He led a fully robotic lymphovenous bypass, from incision to closure, using FDA-cleared NanoWrist Dissection Instruments on the Symani Surgical System Dec. 5. It was the first time the surgery was performed in the U.S. utilizing the technology.
The procedure is designed to help individuals with lymphedema, a condition that causes swelling, often in limbs, due to a buildup of lymph fluid in soft tissues. A lymphovenous bypass helps decrease the swelling by connecting blocked lymphatic vessels to adjacent small veins. This creates a new drainage route for the fluid…