What started in the late 90s as an interesting concept by a surgeon – the World’s First Transatlantic Surgery turned out to be the first ever fully remote and robotic surgery. At the time, it had many twists and turns and intrigues and even challenges that seemed unsurmountable. Three key organizations (IRCAD, Computer Motion, France Telecom) and many others (Mount Sinai Hospital in NY, and Equant Telecom in U.S.) with no singular governing body with authority to drive the project to conclusion, loosely bonded through handshakes and verbal commitments agreed to undertake this historic challenging event!

What challenges you ask? The Computer Motion robotic system, Zeus, was an FDA-cleared surgical robot. The mandate was not to adulterate its status as a cleared device, yet make the device with all of its cables, controllers, and complexities work for use in one room, to separate its surgical console and its robotic arms by a mere distance of about 4,000 miles! Shortly after the start of the project, the technical lead, quit three months into the “project.” With no budget and nobody to replace, the project was put in limbo. Each piece of the project was indispensable— the robot, the telecommunication link, the surgeon, and the patient. 

France Telecom was footing the bill for the telecommunications component, Surgeons provided their time, and Computer Motion was getting a portion of its expenses covered. This project was not their highest priority as it was amid its survival in the real surgical robotic market! Six months into the project, it was considered dead as indicated by some “in charge.” We needed a colonel on the ground with more power to get real things done compared to a general in HQ. The “Project Lindbergh” publication that will expose it all, at least as a lesson to younger managers and how to “Manage Out and Up.”

Fast forwarding to Friday, September 7, 2001, where I along with the two surgeons, Dr. Jacques Marescaux the principal of the project from IRCAD, and Dr. Michel Gagner the surgical genius and artist, sat at surgical consul in Manhattan, NY in a telecom office. Surgeons controlling the two surgical robots and I the robotic arm holding the endoscopic camera for the surgeons, and 4,000 miles away in Strasbourg, France, three patients had volunteered to be the first patient for this historic event.

The first patient was deemed suitable and 55 minutes from the start of the Lap Cholecystectomy to the conclusion, fully robotic, (no intervention by local team after they placed the robotic instruments) including the surgeons in NY placing the gallbladder into the sac to be retrieved.  It was historic, euphoria in the air as executives from Computer Motion, Equant, IRCAD,… were all present and ecstatic at the marvel of what just took place.  We properly had 9/13/2001 set to share this marvelous achievement with the world through reserved invitations with all major media. Not so much as because it was not done before, but rather because we proved surgical expertise can be delivered around the globe where it is needed, using 2001 telecommunication and robotics capabilities.

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