da Vinci Tele-Robotic Surgery
Robotic Surgery is a minimally-invasive surgical technique that involves the use of a computer to guide miniature instruments that are attached to robotic arms. The surgeon sits in the corner of the operating theatre and directs the movement of the robotic arms.
A three-dimensional (3D) camera helps guide the surgery and provides unparalleled vision for the surgeon. Using hand and foot controls, the surgeon manipulates the camera and instruments deep inside the patient’s body, allowing precise and delicate surgery to be performed through tiny incisions. The machine is not capable of independent movement.
The benefits of robotic surgery include:
- Quicker return to normal activity
- Shorter hospital stay
- Less blood loss
- Less scarring than other traditional open surgery
- Patients will have up to six smaller incisions rather than one major incision, which aids recovery and reduces blood loss.
Which procedures can be performed using the robot?
The most common procedure that is performed using the robot is radical prostatectomy. Robotic Surgery is used for more than 90 per cent of radical prostatectomies in the United States.
Other procedures using robotic assisted surgery include:
- Partial nephrectomy for kidney cancer
- Radical cystectomy for bladder cancer
- Pyeloplasty