Benefits of Robotic Surgery

Both patients and surgeons benefit from using robotic surgery. At St. Joseph’s Hospitals Advanced Center for Robotic Surgery, your medical team will explain to you in detail all about your procedure and answer any questions you may have. Meet our robotic surgeons and learn more about our robotic specialties.

Robotic Surgery: Benefits to Patients

During a robotic procedure, your surgeon controls the surgery from a nearby console, manipulating the instruments inside you. There are many benefits to you, the patient, when you undergo a robotic procedure compared to a traditional, “open” surgery.

These benefits include:

• More precise surgery. In any surgery, your surgeon’s goal is to remove the unhealthy, abnormal area without affecting the surrounding healthy tissue.
• Less trauma to the body, less pain. The smaller incisions, smaller instruments and extreme precision enable the surgeon to reach the abnormal area directly with minimal manipulation of and less trauma to internal organs and tissue.
• Less blood loss, less risk of infection. The smaller incisions mean less blood loss and less risk of infection or need for transfusion.
• Shorter hospital stay. Hospital stays of a week or longer may be shortened to a few days, or even just overnight, following a robotic procedure.
• Shorter recovery. Because your surgeon used small incisions rather than a large one, your recovery is faster and you can return to your normal routine sooner.
• Smaller scar. The smaller incisions mean less visible scarring.

Robotic Surgery: Benefits to Surgeons

There are many advantages of a robotic surgery for your surgeon, too. And of course, those advantages translate into benefits for you, in the form of a more precise, targeted, effective surgery.

The robotic surgery system offers surgeons:

• High-resolution visual field. The camera provides your surgeon, seated at the console, an enhanced view of the operating site. The images are highly magnified and detailed, providing a 3-D image. Your surgeon can see even microscopic structures, leading to a more precise surgery. Visualization is better than if your surgeon were standing over you.
• Enhanced dexterity. The robotic instruments move like a human hand, but with a superior range of motion. This flexibility allows your surgeon to operate in ways that were previously impossible.
• Access to hard-to-reach places. The small size and enhanced dexterity of robotic instruments allow your surgeon to reach areas of the body previously unreachable through laparoscopic surgery. This means surgeons can treat more and more conditions using robotic surgery.
• Less manipulation of healthy tissue. Often, sensitive tissues and nerves surround the operating site. The robotic instruments are so precise that your surgeon can operate even in tight spaces without affecting those delicate tissues. This is particularly important during tumor removal, so your surgeon can remove the tumor without harming any sensory or functional nerves.