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A. Gerson Greenburg, MD,PhD
Providence, RI

Arch Surg. 2002;137:1363.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

The authors describe in exquisite detail the technologic strategies used to transmit, in wireless form, the performance of a bilateral inguinal herniorrhaphy on a woman over a great distance. Image stability is clearly an issue resolved by removing the human hand from the process. As presented by its ardent supporters, telesurgery is an interesting if not overly stated concept. Telepresence, telementoring, and telerobotics are terms that are creeping into the literature, at best describing feasibility studies to validate a concept.

In this exercise, medical personnel and medical students were able to identify specific gross anatomic structures from afar. The importance or even the existence of these structures in the repair of an inguinal hernia aside, what is the teaching point? Clearly, the fidelity of the images was valid. However, the validity of this approach to teach and educate medical students is questionable. Couldn't these . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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Telesurgical Presence and Consultation for Open Surgery
Edgar B. Rodas, Rifat Latifi, Stephen Cone, Timothy J. Broderick, Charles R. Doarn, and Ronald C. Merrell
Arch Surg. 2002;137(12):1360-1363.
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