Intuitive Surgical field rep's slip discloses gallbladder numbers

Intuitive Surgical says field employee's gaffe reveals a closely-held figure, the number of single-incision gallbladder surgeries performed this year using its da Vinci surgical robot.

Intuitive Surgical [1] (NSDQ:ISRG [2]) 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 [3]. "The company does not intend to update this information in the future."