The da Vinci unit at left is the robotic arms that go into the patient, and the one below is the console (like a video game console in an arcade).. where the surgeon sits to control the robotic arms.
Many are talking about the introduction of robotic surgery into urology. Robotic surgery is a variation on laparoscopic surgery, where surgeries are performed through very small incisions in the skin with instruments held outside the body. Visualization of the inside of the body is with a camera inserted through a skin incision. As opposed to standard laparoscopic surgery where hand-held instruments are introduced through small skin incisions, in robotic surgery the surgeon controls robotic arms which move surgical instruments inside the body.
Currently, “Intuitive Surgical” is the only manufacturer of robotic surgical instruments in the U.S. Their da Vinci surgical robot uses a 3-D camera and up to 3 surgical instruments to perform complicated surgeries using less than ½ inch incisions. A common misconception is that the robot performs the surgery. The robot is not performing surgery; the surgeon performs the surgery using the robot as an instrument. Why use a robot rather than traditional hand-held laparoscopic instruments? Robotic instruments can perform more complex movements than standard laparoscopic instruments, so more complex surgeries generally can be performed faster and with more precision. 
OK, folks; it's winter, cold and dark. No one has any money, and none of us knows for sure when things will get better. We need a picker-upper that will raise spirits without depleting our dwindling bank accounts. For a lucky group of people who are parents, that might be sex together, IF ONLY there were some way to get away from the kids. 
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