Robotic Surgery

Robotic surgery (or more accurately, “robot-assisted” surgery) is increasingly being used in operating rooms around the world as minimally invasive, laparoscopic approaches replace traditional, “open” surgical techniques as the standard form of care. The Da Vinci® surgical system and several others represent significant technological breakthroughs that allow for smaller incisions, greater precision and range of movement, less post-operative pain and quicker healing times than some “free-hand” surgeries. In a robotic-assisted surgery, the surgeon performs the operation from a computer station using hand controls whose movements direct the robot’s maneuvers within the patient. Here, the surgeon can have greater visibility and maneuverability using tiny instruments than would be possible without the robot. Some of the many surgeries that are now being performed using robots include hysterectomies, cholecystectomies (gall bladder removal), prostatectomies, tubal ligation, cystectomy, kidney removal and transplants, hip replacements and mitral valve repair.