The Future Of Robotic Surgery

Approved by USFDA in 2000, over five million robotic surgeries have been performed using Intuitive Surgical’s da Vinci platform, informs Dr Vivek Venkatesh, Consultant – Uro-oncologist and Robotic Urologist at Nanavati Super Specialty Hospital

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INITIALLY DEVELOPED with a view to perform surgery on the battlefield, robotic surgery has grown by leaps and bounds in the last two decades. Today, it has become one of the most sophisticated tools a surgeon has, allowing for precise, tremorfree surgery with the added benefits of a minimally-invasive approach.

Robotic surgery involves the surgeon sitting at a console and operating on two joysticks. The surgeons’ wrist movements are replicated within the patients’ body by the robotic instruments allowing the surgery to be performed. Ultimately, the instruments are in direct control of the surgeon.

The surgery was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) in the year 2000 and since then over five million procedures have been performed using Intuitive Surgical’s da Vinci platform. The fourth generation Xi system has seen significant advances and the future of robotic surgery is more exciting than ever.