Robotic surgery complications underreported, study finds

Monday, September 16, 2013 SPORK! 0 Comments

Johns Hopkins researchers say "slapdash" reporting means complications from robot-assisted surgery are underreported to the FDA. 

By KRISTEN BUTLER, UPI.com

Researchers from Johns Hopkins Medicine have published a study in the Journal of Healthcare Quality suggesting complications arising from robot-assisted surgeries are underreported to the Food and Drug Administration.

Between 2007 and 2011, the number of robot-assisted procedures performed increased by more than 400 percent in the U.S. By 2011, there were 1,400 surgical robots installed in U.S. hospitals, up from 800 in 2007.

The Johns Hopkins team found that of the more than one million robotic surgeries performed since 2000, just 245 complications -- including 71 deaths -- were reported to the FDA.

"The number reported is very low for any complex technology used over a million times," said Martin Makary, an associate professor of surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.