Robotic surgery is complex and entails significant training for surgeons. It also requires a significant investment in equipment and thus is not available at all hospitals.
Your urology surgeon will make one or more small cuts to insert ports (thin tubes). Through these ports, the long thin camera and surgical instruments are inserted. Your urosurgeon sits at a console and controls the robotic arms.
Better Patient Outcomes
In addition to the improved patient outcomes resulting from less surgical trauma and scarring, minimally invasive robotic procedures often result in shorter hospital stays. This can minimize the disruption to patients’ daily routines and reduce overall healthcare costs by freeing up beds and medical staff for patients who require more extensive or urgent care.
Many robotic surgery procedures are performed on an outpatient or same-day basis, which can also help lower the risk of complications and improve patients’ quality of life. In addition, since these procedures involve smaller incisions, patients experience less pain and need to take fewer pain-relieving medications, which can limit the risk of stomach upset or drug dependency.
During robotic surgery, surgeons use a computer console to mimic their hand, wrist, and finger movements as they guide each instrument in real-time. This enables them to have extraordinary surgical precision and operative control.
Surgeons who participated in the study reported that their ability to perform robotic surgery depends on having good communication links with their team and being able to trust their colleagues to communicate information outside of their field of vision. In their view, if they are not fully aware of the situation, they may make a mistake that could be dangerous for the patient.
Having better information about robotic surgery Melbourne can help to alleviate fears about the procedure, and encourage more patients to seek this option. However, it is important that healthcare providers carefully consider and plan for the training requirements of physicians and surgical teams who are going to be involved in robotic surgery, as well as the needs of the patient population.
Reduced Risk of Complications
While the robot does make it easier to perform some procedures, it is not capable of operating on its own. Your surgeon is still responsible for the entire procedure and must direct the robot with precise hand and finger movements. This means that your surgeon must continue to assess the surgical site and may choose to change course during surgery if necessary.
During our interviews, surgeons reported that their situation awareness was potentially reduced during robotic surgery. They felt that they were focused on a small area and had ‘tunnel vision’. As a result, they found it difficult to know if the robot was functioning normally or experiencing a problem. They also did not have tactile feedback, which would help to inform their decision-making. Some surgeons felt that this led to them being more stressed or tired during the procedure.
Some respondents suggested that this impacted their decision making and they tended to convert to open surgery more often when performing complex operations on patients with a higher risk of complications. However, others stated that their decision to convert was more likely based on factors outside of the robot’s control.
Despite the many benefits of robotic surgery, there are concerns about increased pathogen transmission in the operating room. This is due to the lack of haptic feedback and non-standardized training on robotic devices. Until these issues are addressed, the safety of this new technology remains uncertain.
Shorter Recovery Time
Surgical robotics can reduce recovery time significantly, compared to traditional surgery. It is an advanced form of minimally invasive (laparoscopic) surgery, where surgeons use a robotic system to perform certain procedures through small incisions in the patient’s body.
During robotic-assisted surgery, your surgeon uses master controls at a console in the operating room to direct the robot’s “hands.” These hands have greater range and precision of motion than a surgeon’s own, and they can maneuver into tight spaces inside the body that are difficult to reach with other techniques. The surgeon also uses a long, thin camera that provides high-definition images in 3D during the procedure, while a video monitor shows a live view of the operation for the patient to see.
One of the primary reasons that doctors like to perform surgeries using robots is because they have less pain, blood loss, and recovery time compared to surgery with open incisions. Those benefits can translate into lower hospital stays, reduced risk of complications, and quicker returns to normal activities for patients.
In addition, robotic surgery results in fewer incisions, which can be less prone to infection and heal more quickly. It can also result in less blood loss, which can lead to a shorter hospital stay or even make it possible for a patient to recover from their surgery at home, rather than in the hospital.
Better Patient Satisfaction
With the rapid increase in robotic surgery, healthcare institutions are eager to promote themselves as cutting-edge. Many hospitals and private practices have invested in robots to show patients that they can offer the latest treatment modalities. This is particularly true in the case of the surgical robots used in Perera Urology and gynecology clinics. These systems have the potential to enable a wide range of surgical procedures, including those that were previously out of reach of laparoscopic technology.
However, the acquisition of a surgical robot is only the first step in using this technology to maximize patient outcomes. It is also important to consider how the surgeon and other team members will use the robot. In a recent study, researchers conducted multi-site interviews with OR teams to understand how they believed robotic surgery impacted surgeon decision-making.
The majority of surgeons emphasized that they were concerned about reduced situation awareness during robotic surgeries. They described a feeling of being focused on a small area and having ‘tunnel vision.’ These feelings could make it harder for the surgeon to identify and respond to changes in the surgical site that might otherwise be obvious.
One of the key strategies that surgeons identified for maintaining situation awareness was establishing good communication links with their teams. This was felt to be especially important if the surgeon had a dedicated robot team.
In summary, robotic surgery offers improved patient outcomes, shorter recovery times, and reduced trauma. However, its complexity requires extensive training for surgeons and teams. Challenges include reduced situational awareness and limited tactile feedback during procedures. Effective communication within surgical teams is crucial to overcome these hurdles. Addressing training standards and enhancing situational awareness is key for the wider accessibility and safety of robotic surgery in the future.