The Advent of the Microrobot

摘要

Massive media attention has focused on the application of robots in a variety of surgical procedures, especially in the last 5 years. The da Vinci~R Surgical System has dramatically transformed surgical options for treating prostate cancer. It is estimated that in the United States more than 50% of radical prostatectomies performed for prostate cancer will be with robotic assistance. Such advanced robotic technology provides an impressive 3-dimensional magnified image coupled with surgical instrument movements that, at the least, mimic open surgical precision and might be considered superhuman in many respects. Short-term followup results out to 5 years appear to easily match the oncological and functional outcomes of open prostatectomy. However, the da Vinci Surgical System is quite large and has a hefty price tag.