The da Vinci Robotic System is an extremely sophisticated piece of sensitive surgical equipment, so you can imagine how thrilled the students at seaside neighborhood school were today to get some hands-on experience with the da Vinci. The students learned the system's capabilities, by opening candy and playing board games. When inventors created the da Vinci Robotic Surgical System, this probably isn't what they had in mind, but this activity at the Seaside Neighborhood School Tuesday gave students a real idea about how doctors can use the da Vinci's sophisticated controls to perform almost any task. “I thought it was gonna be harder, but it's actually really easy,” Emme Martin said after opening a Jolly Rancher using the instrument.

While traditional surgeries can require weeks of recuperation, the da Vnci's less invasive technique allows patients to get back to their daily routines much quicker. "For most procedures they'd have to open the patient. It's big scars, a long time in the hospital, a lot of blood loss, risk of infection, and really long recovery times," said Jennifer Carter who works with da Vinci system. "The benefit to the patient with daVinci surgery is that they don't have to have open surgery anymore. So it cuts down on blood loss and length of stay in the hospital and then ultimately, what's really important is recovery and getting back to your life sooner. "