SUNNYVALE, Calif., July 24, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Intuitive Surgical (Nasdaq:ISRG) today announced the launch of the first annual Intuitive Surgical Robotics Fellowship Course through the American Association for Thoracic Surgery's (AATS) Graham Foundation. The course, which begins today, is designed to offer an introductory training course in robotics to eight North American general thoracic surgery fellows and their attending surgeons. General thoracic surgeons specialize in procedures performed in the chest, such as surgery for lung cancer.
The eight fellows will have the opportunity to spend two days at Intuitive Surgical's Atlanta facility to receive advanced training on Intuitive Surgical's da Vinci® Surgical System. Course Director Robert Cerfolio, MD, leading robotic surgery expert and Chief of the Section of Thoracic Surgery at the University of Alabama, will provide clinical instruction. This year's fellowship recipients come from Duke University, East Carolina University, Mayo Clinic, New York University, Swedish Medical Center, University of Kentucky, University of Southern California and University of Toronto.
"This is about training young surgeons in innovative new technologies and providing surgeons-in-training the opportunity to learn about the latest surgical technologies and techniques," said Ray Pasciuto, Director of Development for AATS's Graham Foundation. "We are grateful for Intuitive Surgical's commitment to product training and its support of our fellowship course."
"We welcome the opportunity to support surgeons early in their professional development as they experience advanced technologies that enable the delivery of more minimally invasive thoracic surgery," said Myriam Curet, Senior Vice President, Chief Medical Officer at Intuitive Surgical.
Intuitive Surgical provided funding, hosting, logistical support, da Vinci® System training and curriculum consultation to the AATS Graham Foundation to support this course. However, Intuitive Surgical had no input or control over fellow selection, nor does it teach surgery, or provide or evaluate credentialing.
Since its founding in 1973, the AATS Graham Foundation has served as the funding arm of the Association's research initiatives. The AATS Graham Foundation Fellowship provided the eight winners with a grant to defray the costs of roundtrip travel and accommodations in Atlanta.
About Intuitive Surgical, Inc.
Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (Nasdaq:ISRG), headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, is the global leader in robotic-assisted, minimally invasive surgery. Intuitive Surgical develops, manufactures and markets the da Vinci Surgical System.
About the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS)
The American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS) is an international organization of over 1,300 of the world's foremost thoracic and cardiothoracic surgeons, representing 41 countries. Founded in 1917 by a respected group of the last century's earliest pioneers in the field of thoracic surgery, the AATS continues to be the premier association among cardiothoracic surgeons in the world. The AATS Graham Foundation has served as the Association's philanthropic arm, funding many educational, training and research activities. Its programs support medical students, residents, fellows and surgeons worldwide, enhancing their overall surgical knowledge and technical skills and keeping them abreast of the advances and breakthroughs within the specialty. Visit www.aats.org and www.AATSGrahamFoundation.org for more information.
About the da Vinci Surgical System
The da Vinci Surgical System is a surgical platform designed to facilitate surgery using a minimally invasive approach. The da Vinci Surgical System consists of one or two ergonomic surgeon consoles, a patient-side cart with three or four interactive arms, a 3D HD vision system and proprietary EndoWrist® instruments.
Important Safety Information – Surgical Risks
Serious complications may occur in any surgery, including da Vinci Surgery, up to and including death. Risks include, but are not limited to, injury to tissues and organs and conversion to other surgical techniques. If your doctor needs to convert the surgery to another surgical technique, this could result in a longer operative time, additional time under anesthesia, additional or larger incisions and/or increased complications. Individual surgical results may vary. Patients who are not candidates for non-robotic minimally invasive surgery are also not candidates for da Vinci Surgery. Patients should talk to their doctors to decide if da Vinci Surgery is right for them. Patients and doctors should review all available information on non-surgical and surgical options in order to make an informed decision. Please also refer to www.daVinciSurgery.com/Safety for Important Safety Information.
Intuitive-Provided Instruction
Training provided by Intuitive Surgicalis limited to the use of the da Vinci Surgical System and does not replace the necessary medical training and experience required to perform surgery. The da Vinci Surgical System should be used only by surgeons who have received specific training in the use of the da Vinci Surgical System.
Intuitive Surgical facilitates peer-to-peer clinical teaching but does not teach surgery, nor does it provide or evaluate surgical credentialing. Procedure descriptions are developed with, reviewed and approved by course faculty, who are independent surgeons.
Forward-Looking Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are necessarily estimates reflecting the best judgment of our management and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested by the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements should, therefore, be considered in light of various important factors, including those under the heading "Risk Factors" in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, as updated from time to time by our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements using words such as "estimates," "projects," "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," "intends," "may," "will," "could," "should," "would," "targeted" and similar words and expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or release any revisions to these forward-looking statements, except as required by law.