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Hey listeners, it's Lindsay Smith-Rogers. Today, robotic surgery.

What if a surgeon could operate on a patient from miles away or even

across the country? Dr. Benita Asher, who until recently directed the FDA's Office of Surgical

and Infection Control Devices, joined Stephanie Desmond to discuss the future of robotic

telesurgery and why it could lead to better outcomes, particularly for rural patients.

Let's listen. Benita Asher, thanks so much for joining me. Thank you so much for having me.

I'm excited to be here. Until recently, you were the director of the FDA's Office of Infection

Control devices. Something that you've been watching over the years, I understand, is this whole

idea of robotic telesurgery and the technology behind it watching over the years, I understand, is this whole idea of robotic

telesurgery and the technology behind it. So the first thing I need to understand is I was a robot

doing surgery from across the country. Yeah, so let me break it down a little bit. I think many

of us are familiar with robotic surgery. A robotic surgery is become almost standard of care for

hysterectomy and for prostatectomy, removing the uterus or removing the prostate. And basically,

that involves a surgeon sitting at a console and in the operating room where the patient is

and maneuvering the robotic arms using hand

controls and foot pedals to perform minimally invasive surgery, meaning through small incisions.

This allows magnification and precise movement of the robotic arms.

So it's an extension of the surgeon and the operating

...