excerpt from
Scar Tissue
from
The Best American Short Plays 2010–2011
setting
The then and there, the here and now. USC Medical Center.
CLAUDIA [Heart surgeon, fifties. Attractive. Cold.] The da Vinci Robot can allow us to perform complicated procedures. As you can see, this procedure is dramatically less invasive than standard BACG, and as a result requires far less recovery time. The da Vinci Surgical System allows a surgeon to get a closer view of the heart and mimics the surgeon’s movements.
[ALMA demonstrates.]
In addition, it compensates for minor, involuntary motions which would otherwise make the procedure impractical. In addition to controlling the arms, the surgeon can also control the scope of his or her view. “Zoom.” [. . .] The most difficult part of the procedure is the attachment of the blood vessel to the aorta. While the standard procedure allows the surgeon to use her hands to sew the tissue together, the da Vinci model uses a different method.
[She demonstrates.]
It punctures a small hole, here, and anchors the vessel similar to how a small rivet would work. [. . .] You’ll notice the heart is still beating. This procedure, in most cases, is performed off pump, which is ultimately safer for the patient. What’s more, the surgeon doesn’t even need to be in the same room as the surgery. He can perform the procedure from his office with other attendees in the O.R. [. . .] This is the future, ladies and gentlemen. [. . .] In ten years, standard coronary bypass will be obsolete.
[CLAUDIA sets her instruments down. She moves about the crowd with each question.]
While the da Vinci machine is not cheap, we can expect to recover costs in twelve to fifteen months, at which point, it actually becomes a very cost-effective procedure. [. . .] The recovery time with this procedure is cut by 25 percent. What’s more, since it is performed on a beating heart, the patient does not need to rely on a heart and lung bypass machine. As you know, the use of these machines has been called into question as some studies have shown a correlation between them and long-term depression. [. . .] We are in a result-oriented profession, doctor. If the patient lives, we have succeeded. If not, we’ve failed. So far, nineteen surgeries have been performed with the da Vinci machine. Zero have died. In fact, all of them have recovered at an extraordinary rate. We are not motivational speakers or therapists. We are not kindergarten teachers or priests. We are not paid to be peoples’ friends. We are paid to do what most other people can’t do: save lives. And this robot does that incredibly efficiently. I’ve selected the twentieth Da Vinci patient. You are welcome to observe. Once you do, I think you will agree that this machine should be a fixture at USC Medical.