Robotics and general surgery

Abstract

Robotics are now being used in all surgical fields, including general surgery. By increasing intra-abdominal articulations while operating through small incisions, robotics are increasingly being used for a large number of visceral and solid organ operations, including those for the gallbladder, esophagus, stomach, intestines, colon, and rectum, as well as for the endocrine organs. Robotics and general surgery are blending for the first time in history and as a specialty field should continue to grow for many years to come. We continuously demand solutions to questions and limitations that are experienced in our daily work. Laparoscopy is laden with limitations such as fixed axis points at the trocar insertion sites, two-dimensional video monitors, limited dexterity at the instrument tips, lack of haptic sensation, and in some cases poor ergonomics. The creation of a surgical robot system with 3D visual capacity seems to deal with most of these limitations. Although some in the surgical community continue to test the feasibility of these surgical robots and to question the necessity of such an expensive venture, others are already postulating how to improve the next generation of telemanipulators, and in so doing are looking beyond today's horizon to find simpler solutions. As the robotic era enters the world of the general surgeon, more and more complex procedures will be able to be approached through small incisions. As technology catches up with our imaginations, robotic instruments (as opposed to robots) and 3D monitoring will become routine and continue to improve patient care by providing surgeons with the most precise, least traumatic ways of treating surgical disease.