Intuitive Surgical second-quarter profit jumps past expectations

(Reuters) - Intuitive Surgical Inc on Tuesday reported much higher than expected second-quarter profit, driven by an increase in sales of its da Vinci surgical robots and in procedures using the pricey machines, and its shares rose more than 5 percent. The company during the quarter shipped 130 da Vinci systems, which sell for about $1.5 million each, up from 110 in the prior quarter and 118 a year ago. It said instrument and accessory revenue rose 14 percent as procedures using da Vincis climbed 16 percent, driving by growth in U.S. general surgeries and urological procedures, such as prostate surgeries, outside the United States.