Intuitive robosurgery training seen lacking in lawsuits

Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG), the maker of robots used in 367,000 U.S. operations last year, is facing accusations in lawsuits that it put patients at risk by marketing the machinery to doctors without providing adequate training. Company e-mails introduced in a lawsuit filed against Intuitive in Kitsap County, Washington, suggest salesmen lobbied hospitals to scale back doctor training. One manager's e-mail lauded a salesman for persuading a hospital that five supervised operations were too many. In another, a manager told a sales team not to "let proctoring or credentialing get in the way" of meeting goals on the number of robot surgeries.