![]() | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract Robotic surgery is an evolution of traditional laparoscopy with a special tool offering the surgeon more mobile instruments and better vision. With increased experience, more and more indications will be performed robotically, with significant benefit for our patients. The present principal drawback remains the cost. Because of the advantages, robotics are here to stay. Laparoscopic urologic surgery started over a decade ago and it has galvanized the field of urology. Many of the procedures are difficult to perform, however, and advanced techniques are being carried out by only a limited number of skilled surgeons at very few centers across the world. Laparoscopic urologic surgery has certain drawbacks, including limited instrumentations, a lack of training cases, a steep learning curve and reconstructive techniques that are difficult to execute. The ‗da Vinci‘ system has 3-D vision, seven degrees of freedom of movement, and an articulating robotic EndoWrist (Intuitive Surgical, Sunnyvale, USA), which mimics the surgeon‘s hand movement. Thus, this system may help in fine dissections in a narrow area, dealing with structures and organs with abundant vessels and nerves, and suturing in reconstructive procedures in laparoscopic urologic surgery. The ultimate goal of robotics is to allow surgeons to perform difficult procedures with a level of precision and improved clinical outcomes not possible by conventional methods. Robotics has the potential to enable surgeons with varying levels of surgical skill to achieve a uniform outcome. Urology has always been ready to embrace new technology. As long as urologists continue to embrace technological advances and incorporate beneficial technology into their practice, the outlook for patients remains bright. Since the introduction of the da Vinci Surgical System to the urological field, robotic-assisted surgery has gained increasing popularity. Advances in technology and instrumentation have allowed for extirpative procedures as well as complex reconstructive procedures via transperitoneal or extra/retroperitoneal approaches. Clinical reports have demonstrated that robotic-assisted surgery is a safe, feasible,and effective technique for managing a variety of urologic conditions. Hopefully, in the not-too-distant future, the proliferation of technology, together with a decrease in costs and improved training of urological surgeons, will make RAP more widely available to correct lesions such as UPJ obstruction. Hence, the robotic experience builds on the laparoscopic precedent, with the introduction of robot-assisted pyeloplasty creating a niche for robot-assisted pyelolithotomy as both an adjunctive and an independent intervention. Though early experience with RAPN has demonstrated significant potential, thorough analyses of long-term functional and oncological outcomes for RAPN are critically needed. it appears that there is a bright future for RAPN. Perioperative outcomes and convalescence appears to favor RARC over ORC. RARC is an exciting advancement in urologic oncology and has the potential to improve the lives of patients undergoing a radical cystectomy if performed according to the standards set by centers of excellence in ORC. Robotic- assisted radical prostatectomy may well be considered the new gold standard for surgical treatment of localized prostate cancer. Robotic assistance of VVF appears to be an attractive, minimally invasive option for primary or recurrent VVFs that are suitable for repair by an abdominal approach. |