Health Technology: Learn All About Robotic Surgery

You may feel worried if a doctor tells you that you need surgery. You're probably concerned about the success of the surgery, how much pain you might have, and other things, but with robotic surgery, you can feel less nervous.

When it involves relatively small incisions, suitably selected patients may benefit from robotic surgery with less surgical discomfort, reduced scarring, and quicker recovery times than conventional open surgery.

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You can anticipate a really different surgical experience due to advancements in surgical technology. Learn all about it Robotic surgery here as you read on.

Health Technology: Learn All About Robotic Surgery
Image source: MIT Technology Review

What is Robotic Surgery?

Robotic surgery, or robot-assisted surgery, enables doctors to execute many forms of advanced procedures with greater precision, flexibility, and control than traditional techniques can.

Typically, robotic surgery is synonymous with minimally invasive surgery; operations are conducted through small incisions. It is also being increasingly used in some conventional open surgical procedures.

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The first recorded use of a robot-assisted surgical technique took place in 1985. It was documented when the PUMA 560 robotic surgical arm was used in a sensitive neurosurgical biopsy, a non-laparoscopic operation.

How Does the Robotic Surgical System Work?

The surgeon makes tiny incisions in your body to operate using a Robotic system and inserts miniaturized instruments and a three-dimensional high-definition camera. Skin incisions are sometimes not necessary at all.

Then, the surgeon manipulates those instruments to conduct the procedure from a nearby console. Think of the robotic surgical system as a bit of a video game.

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You move a control button while playing a video game, and the device converts your motions into real-time, imitating your actions accurately on the screen.

The surgeon utilizes master controls to operate the instruments during a robotic-assisted operation, and the instruments convert the movements of your surgeon into precise movements within your body.

Advantages of Robotic Surgery

Surgeons who are using the robotic system claim it increases accuracy, flexibility, and control during the operation for many operations and helps them to see the site better as opposed to conventional procedures.

With robotic surgery, surgeons may conduct intricate and complicated procedures that would have been hard or impossible with other methods. Sometimes, minimally invasive surgery is made possible by robotic surgery.

The advantages of minimally invasive surgery include the following.

  • Fewer complications, such as surgical site infection
  • Less pain and blood loss
  • Quicker recovery
  • Smaller, less noticeable scars

Health Technology: Learn All About Robotic Surgery
Image source: Florida Today

Uses of Robotic Surgery

As of 2004, three types of heart surgery are being performed using robotic surgery systems, namely atrial septal defect repair, mitral valve repair, and coronary artery bypass.

In thoracic surgery, robotic surgery has become more popular for mediastinal pathologies, pulmonary pathologies, and more complex esophageal surgery.

Moreover, several operations, including bariatric surgery and gastrectomy for cancer, have been done with either the 'Zeus' or da Vinci robot systems.

Additionally, introducing robotic surgery has helped improve minimally invasive surgery for gynecologic disease. In orthopedic surgery, robots are also used, and robotic systems began to be used in minimally invasive spine surgery beginning in the mid-2000s.

In the late 2000s, the first fully robotic kidney transplantations were done. Furthermore, robotic surgery in the field of urology has become popular, especially in the United States.

Final Words

Robotic surgery entails risks, some of which may be equivalent to traditional open surgery, such as a risk of infection and other complications. It is not for everybody. It may also not be available in your geographical area and at some medical centers.

Speak to your surgeon about robotic surgery's advantages and drawbacks and how it differs from other procedures, such as other forms of minimally invasive surgery and traditional open surgery.

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