Intuitive Surgical (NSDQ:ISRG) said a field employee’s slip to a California newspaper revealed 1 of its closely held secrets: The number of single-incision surgeries performed this year using its da Vinci surgical robot.
The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based medical device company said a Sept. 14 article in the Modesto Bee revealed that about 4,000 of the single-incision gallbladder surgeries have been performed using the da Vinci since it won FDA clearance for the procedure late last year.
"This was an unauthorized disclosure by a field employee in violation of company policy," according to a regulatory filing. "The company does not intend to update this information in the future."
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The offending line in the Modesto Bee piece on da Vinci cholecystectomies reads, "Intuitive Surgical, the company that makes the da Vinci robot, said about 4,000 of the single-incision surgeries have been done since the system was launched in January."
"More than 700 robotic- assisted surgeries have been performed at Doctors Medical Center, which purchased a da Vinci surgical system in 2007 and has more than 10 doctors using the system. Memorial paid $2 million for a newer version of da Vinci that supports single-incision operations and has more advanced imaging," according to the newspaper. "At Memorial, seven surgeons use da Vinci for prostate surgery, hysterectomies, colon and general surgeries. And more are going through the training."
Intuitive won 510(k) clearance from the FDA for the single-incision gallbladder procedure using its da Vinci Si model in December 2011.
