Robot-assisted surgery

Over the last two decades the introduction of novel technologies substantially changed the practice in most surgical disciplines. With the advent of robotic surgery, the approach to patients with surgical indications has dramatically changed. The number of robotic procedures performed per year is rapidly increasing all over the world and more and more centers are equipping with this technology. The availability of new technologies is constantly affecting the field of minimally invasive surgery. Many of these innovations have been integrated within recent robotic surgical systems leading to numerous benefit for the surgeon and patients. New generation robotic systems are equipped with innovative technological refinements in order to improve vision, dexterity and assist the surgeon during the operation (virtual reality). Many companies are engaged in designing new robotic systems in order to propose an alternative to the well-established DaVinci platform. Tactile feedback, image-guided surgery and single site surgery are all hot topics for the next generation robotic surgeons. At the same time the costs either because this technology is expensive or because their introduction leads to an expansion in the types and numbers of patients treated should be considered to best allocate investments in the healthcare system.