Robotic Surgery

What is surgery?

Surgery is a way to treat an injury or illness that often uses incisions (cuts) in the body so your provider can look at your organs, bones, or other parts of the body. 

What is robotic surgery?

Robotic surgery is a way of doing surgery with smaller incisions (cuts). A surgeon uses a computer that controls robotic arms with tools and a camera attached to them. These tools are put into the body through small incisions.

While sitting at a computer in the room where surgery is done, the surgeon watches enlarged 3-D images of your body as the surgery is being done. As the surgeon moves their hand, the robot matches the surgeon’s movements to use the tools. This can help the surgeon make small, precise movements. The robot has no control over the movements being made, only the surgeon.

Setting a robot up for surgery can take extra time, so robotic surgeries can take longer than laparoscopic or open surgery. Not all treatment centers have robotic equipment and not all surgeons are trained to use this equipment.

What types of surgery can be done robotically?

Some surgeries that can be done using a robotic system include:

• Gallbladder removal.
• Hysterectomy.
• Total or partial kidney removal.
• Radical prostatectomy.
• Radical cystectomy.
• Removal of tumors in other organs.

Are there benefits to robotic surgery?

Some benefits of robotic surgery are:

• Faster healing and recovery time due to some small incisions being made instead of a large incision.
• Less risk of pain, bleeding, and infection.
• A shorter hospital stay.

Robotic surgery is best done by a surgeon who has a lot of experience with it. Robotic surgery is not always a good choice for cancer surgery and it is still being tested to see if it works as well in certain cases. Talk to your surgeon about your options for your cancer surgery.

Learn more about surgery and treatment for cancer at OncoLink.