DRLUGO BLOG

I wanted to address an issue that several patients seem to have. There is a misconception about what can be done with robotic surgery and the practicality of it. We all love technology and like it when we hear the futuristic words robotic, in any part of our life. This does not exclude the medical world, specially, if we are talking about surgery. We have the belief that, a robot, must be better than a human! Well that is true in some instances. I explain, robotic surgery is targeted to certain surgical procedures that require working in a tight space like the pelvis. The types of surgery in this area are mainly urological (prostate), gynecological (uterus and ovaries) and certain rectal surgeries. Not all surgeries are necessarily better done using robotic surgery. The reason these surgeries are suited for this type of device is due to the limited space and/or the need for precise, small dissection or cutting. Other than these situations, the procedure is tedious, expensive and longer in duration than the traditional surgery or even the laparoscopic surgery that we now do routinely in most patients. In other words the benefit of robotic surgery in most instances is not enough to increase the risk by increasing operative times. By the way robotic surgery does involve the human touch since the robot is controlled by a surgeon that is sitting looking at the screen and manipulating the robotic arms.
Another good use would be to perform long distance surgery when a particular specialist is not available. The draw back is that there has to be a stand by team in the event that something goes wrong.
Hopefully, this clarifies some misconceptions people may have. Please ask any question at www.drlugo.com