BOSTON, MA--(MARKET WIRE)--Aug 19, 2008 -- On Tuesday, September 16, 2008 at 2 PM EDT, during a live Webcast, specialists at Children's Hospital Boston will perform intravesical ureteral reimplantation using robotic-assisted surgery to correct vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) in one of its patients. Urologists will also showcase and discuss additional procedures that can be carried out using the minimally invasive, robotic-assisted surgery technique such as pyeloplasty, continent urinary diversion and bladder augmentation.

Source: OR-Live, Inc.
The Company's da Vinci(R) Surgical System offers surgeons superior visualization, enhanced dexterity, greater precision and ergonomic comfort for the optimal performance of MIS. ·  Ureteral Reimplantation ·  OR-Live

Each year, Children's hosts several Webcasts to demonstrate its pioneering care and technology to specialists, physicians and patients around the world, while also educating them on the latest and most innovative medical treatments available at Children's.

The Center for Robotic Surgery at Children's provides unrivaled expertise in pediatric robotic surgery. Specially-trained surgeons use a state-of-the-art da Vinci ® Surgical System manufactured by Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (ISRG - News) to perform complex and delicate minimally invasive surgery that results in less pain, faster recovery, shorter hospital stays and smaller scars. In 2001, Children's was the first pediatric hospital to acquire a surgical robot. Today, Children's is one of the only pediatric hospitals to perform clinical assessments and outcome analysis to ensure the use of the surgical robot is always advantageous to the patient.

Sitting at a console in the operating room, a surgeon is able to study crisp, real-time 3-D video images of the operating site while grasping controls in each hand. Each subtle movement of the surgeon's wrists, hands, and fingers is translated precisely to the tiny surgical instruments inside the patient's body. "It's as though my hands are actually inside the patient, yet I'm working through a tiny surgical opening," says Hiep T. Nguyen, MD, co-director of the Center for Robotic Surgery and director of the Robotic Surgery Research and Training Program

Alan B Retik, MD, FAAP, FACS, Urologist-in-Chief and Executive Director of the Advanced Fetal Care Center at Children's, and Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School, will lead the LIVE Webcast with commentators Joseph Borer, MD, co-director of the Center for Robotic Surgery, director of the Center for Exstrophy and director of Neurourology, and David Diamond, MD, pediatric urologist, while Dr. Nguyen will perform the operation.

The clinical team will answer e-mail questions from viewers during the live broadcast.

About vesicoureteral reflux

Normally, urine travels from the kidneys to the bladder via the ureters. Vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) occurs when urine that dwells in the bladder flows back into the ureters and often back into the kidneys. Children with VUR may present before birth as prenatal hydronephrosis (an abnormal widening of the ureter) or with a urinary tract infection. Some may be diagnosed because of a family history, even though they may be without symptoms. Others have VUR secondary to others abnormalities of the urinary tract such as posterior urethral valves, ureterocele and neurogenic bladder. During infancy, primary VUR is more common among boys because there is more pressure in their urinary tract; in early childhood, the abnormality is more common in girls. The concern with vesicoureteral reflux is that it can lead to damage or scarring of the kidneys when the reflux is associated with urinary tract infections. Treatment for VUR is based on the child's age, overall health, and medical history, the extent of the condition, the child's tolerance for specific medications, procedures, or therapies, and expectations for the course of the condition.

About Intuitive Surgical, Inc.

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. is the global technology leader in robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgery (MIS). The Company's da Vinci® Surgical System offers surgeons superior visualization, enhanced dexterity, greater precision and ergonomic comfort for the optimal performance of MIS. The da Vinci System enables surgeons to perform even complex procedures such as open-heart surgery through 1-2 cm incisions.

About Children's Hospital Boston

Children's Hospital Boston is home to the world's largest research enterprise based at a pediatric medical center, where its discoveries have benefited both children and adults since 1869. More than 500 scientists, including nine members of the National Academy of Sciences, 7 members of the Institute of Medicine and 13 members of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute comprise Children's research community. Founded as a 20-bed hospital for children, Children's Hospital Boston today is a 397-bed comprehensive center for pediatric and adolescent health care grounded in the values of excellence in patient care and sensitivity to the complex needs and diversity of children and families. Children's also is the primary pediatric teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. For more information about the hospital and its research visit: www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom.

View a preview of this program and learn more by visiting OR-Live

VNR: www.OR-Live.com

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