Every decade sees new advances in a doctor's ability to help their patients.
Doctors used to operate in their street clothes and then they got aprons.
They didn't necessarily wash their hands before surgery so germs were a problem.
Once they figured that out, the health of the patient was not as much in jeopardy.
From there the tools of the surgeon improved as did the sanitation in the operating rooms.
There have been too many advances to mention here as the doctors themselves have also gotten better educations and knowledge of the human body has seen phenomenal advances.
One of the most impressive advances in the last few years has been in the area of robots.
The advances have brought new advances in the area of robotic heart surgery for one.
This isn't a robot like you see in Star Wars or the Jetsons.
These robots are more like extensions of the doctor's arms.
A doctor sits across the room from the surgery table or nearby the table and looks through the eyes of the robots magnifying lens.
He has the capability to see more than he could with his naked eyes.
He controls the robotic arms to within much smaller increments than most surgeons can consistently do with their own arms and hands.
It's an amazing feat to have that kind of control when doing a robotic prostatectomy due to the microscopic nerves that need to be avoided.
This control has provided patients with outcomes that have a higher standard of living than previous surgeries.
Not to say that many surgeons weren't able to have success without robotic arms but the consistency of using these arms is hard to compete with.
When it comes to the quality of life for patients it is a considerable factor for those facing life threatening diseases that require a triple bypass in Illinois.