Robotic surgery: Surgery that's easier on you

If you’ve heard about robotic surgery, you might wonder if a robot actually performs the operation. Don’t worry: The surgeon controls everything, using highly advanced robotic arms that serve as extensions of his or her own hands.

Instead of standing over the operating table, the surgeon sits at a console station just a few feet from the patient. After making a small, circular incision in the patient, the surgeon inserts a thin metal tube through which the robotic arms (long, thin surgical instruments) can be placed inside the body, similar to what occurs during laparoscopic surgery.

With robotic surgery, however, the surgeon sits at the console, using hand levers and foot pedals to remotely move the robotic arms that have scalpels, scissors, graspers, a tiny camera and other tools at the tip. In contrast to traditional open surgery, robotic surgery allows the doctor to achieve the same or a better result with much less stress to the patient’s body.

For the patient, this means:

• Less pain

• Smaller incision(s)

• A shorter hospital stay

• A faster recovery

• Lower risk of infection or complications

• Less blood loss

Surgeons must undergo additional training to perform robotic surgery, which became increasingly popular throughout the 2010s. Today, more than 20% of all surgeries in the U.S. are performed robotically.

Because the tiny camera on the robotic arm is highly precise, many surgeons say the enhanced visualization gives them a sense they are inside the body. With robot assistance, surgeons can see bone, muscle, organs and tissue, and maneuver the tiny surgical instruments with greater precision than is possible without. Robotic surgery is also less tiring because the surgeon sits at the console instead of standing over an operating table while holding instruments for long periods of time.