The benefits of robotic procedures
- A robot allows greater surgical precision. The robot holds miniature instruments and can be manipulated with more agility and in ways impossible for a human hand.
- Robotic surgery is "laparoscopic," meaning minimally invasive, when compared to traditional "open" surgery. Instead of one long incision, the surgeon makes smaller incisions that are a mere 1/4- to 1/2-inch in length. Minimally invasive surgery, as compared to open surgery, results in:
- Less blood loss
- Reduced chance of infection
- Less prominent scarring
- Shorter hospital stay and recovery time
- For most patients, minimally invasive surgery also yields less pain, reducing the need for pain medication and minimizing the length of time you'd need to take it.
- All this can lead to much shorter recovery times and a quicker return to normal activities.
Surgeon at the controls
During robotic surgery the surgeon — not the robot — controls every aspect of the procedure from a console in the operating room.
A slender camera inserted through a surgical opening transmits sharp, three-dimensional images to the console, and the surgeon holds master controls, much like forceps, to manipulate the robotic controls. A surgical nurse stays at the patient's side while the anesthesiologist and other team members monitor the patient's condition.
