Traditional surgical procedures require surgeons to make large incisions(伤口) in a patient’s body in order to gain access to the internal organs. It was once common for heart surgeons, who perform highly specialized and complex procedures, to make long incisions in a patient’s chest and then split the breastbone to reach the heart. Patients who undergo surgery are often at the risk of infection, as bacteria can infect the cut in the skin. In addition, there is often a lengthy recovery period.
A surgical technique known as “keyhole surgery” has become more common in recent years. In general, the surgeon will make a couple of small incisions around the area where the operation is going to be performed. Tubes are pushed into the holes, and a tiny camera, which is called an endoscope, is put into the body. The camera is attached to a large monitor screen that is positioned so that the doctor can see it while he performs the operation. In addition to the camera, doctors also push their tiny surgical instruments through the tubes. The awkward part of keyhole surgery is that it is counterintuitive; that is to say, if a surgeon wants to move the tool to the left, he or she must push it to the right.
Other advancements in technology are also being used today in the OR (operation room). A new machine called the “da Vinci Surgical System” has been tested in hospitals in the U.S.. Unlike keyhole surgery, the da Vinci’s robot’s moving parts are designed to imitate the natural hand and wrist movement of a surgeon, thus providing better control and sensitivity. The system is controlled by a surgeon from a console(控制台). Sitting at a console a few feet from the patient, the surgeon can perform an operation by holding and moving highly sensitive pads that enable him or her to control the instruments. The area of the body on which the surgeon is working is enlarged on a screen, which is attached to the console. This gives surgeons a realistic three-dimensional view of the area — similar to what they would see during a traditional surgical procedure.
Although the da Vinci Surgical System is undergoing some trials for some procedures, it has been welcomed as revolutionary by many surgeons. Patients with serious illnesses must still undergo major surgery, but the smaller incisions and less invasive procedures typically mean that a shorter recovery time is needed. In some cases, the patient’s stay in the hospital has been cut in half when the da Vinci Surgical System was used. On the downside, some operations have taken up to fifty minutes longer because surgeons are inexperienced at using the new technology. As surgeons become more familiar with the machines, the time needed for surgical procedures is likely to decrease.
小题1:What can be learned about the traditional surgery according to the passage?
A．The cost of the traditional surgery is very high.
B．It often leaves a large wound in a person’s body.
C．Long incisions are made in a patient’s chest.
D．The incision is often infected after the operation.小题2: Which of the following is one DISADVANTAGE of keyhole surgery?
A．It requires the use of long, thin tools and a tiny camera.
B．The doctor can not view the inside of the patient’s body clearly.
C．The direction in which a doctor moves the surgical tools is reversed.
D．An endoscope has to be inserted into the patient’s body in advance.小题3: The da Vinci Surgical System differs from keyhole surgery in that _______.
A．requires that a surgeon make more small incisions on a patient
B．reduces the amount of time it takes to perform a surgical procedure
C．allows the surgeon to use the surgical instruments more sensitively
D．eliminates the need for surgeons to make large incisions on patients小题4: The passage mainly tells the reader ________.
A．the challenges brought about by new technology
B．the benefits and drawbacks of the da Vinci Surgical System
C．the reflections on the development in medical science
D．the application of new technologies in modern surgery