Robotic surgery

Robotic surgery or robot-assisted surgery is any type of surgical procedure that is performed with the use of robotic systems. Robotically assisted surgery was developed with the primary goal of overcoming the limitations of pre-existing minimally invasive surgical procedures, alongside enhancing the capabilities (for example, increasing their work precision) of surgeons performing open surgeries.

In the case of robotically assisted minimally-invasive surgery, instead of the surgeon manually moving the surgical instruments, he uses one of two methods to perform dissection, hemostasis, and resection: either a remote manipulator or a computer control system.

• A telemanipulator (e.g. the da Vinci Surgical System) is a system of remotely controlled manipulators that enables a surgeon to perform the surgery in real-time under stereoscopic vision from a control console separate from the operating table. In this case, the surgical robot is docked next to the patient, while the robotic arms carry out endoscopy-like maneuvers via end-effectors inserted through specially designed trocars. A surgical assistant and a scrub nurse are often still needed scrubbed at the tableside to help switch effector instruments or provide additional suction or temporary tissue retraction using endoscopic grasping instruments.
• In computer-controlled systems, the surgeon uses a computer system to relay control data and direct the robotic arms and their end-effectors, even though these systems still possess the ability to use telemanipulators for their input. One of the primary advantages of using the computerized method is that it does not require the surgeon to be physically present on campus to perform the procedure, leading to the possibility for remote surgery and even AI-assisted or automated procedures.

While representing an important milestone in the advancement of health technology, robotic surgery has been a subject of some criticism for its expense, with the average costs in 2007 ranging from $5,607 to $45,914 per patient. Moreover, as of 2019, robotic surgery has not been officially approved for cancer surgery as multiple factors related to the surgery's safety and effectiveness remain unclear.