Advances In Gynecological Surgery
Robotic Surgery
According to gynecologists everywhere, robotic surgery is the greatest invention since ice cream. It's new, it's innovative, and it can work wonders. But the robots aren't just cool toys for surgeons—they also make for a shorter recovery time for patients with fewer complications and less pain.
Human Surgeons
People often express concern over the idea of robotic surgery, so it's important to note that the surgery is not performed by robots. The surgical techniques are performed by a human surgeon, albeit with the help of the latest advances in robotic technology.
The surgeon performing robotic surgery is seated at a console in front of a screen. The 3-D, high-resolution graphics enable the surgeon a much better view of the surgical site than can be afforded by the human eye and the hand controls offer the surgeon more variety and delicacy of movement than the human hand alone can perform. The surgeon is in full control of the proceedings but can perform surgical tasks with amazing precision.
Robotic surgery resembles laparoscopic surgery in many respects. For instance, both types of surgery are minimally invasive. In both laparoscopy and robotic surgery, two small incisions are made in the patient's skin. A camera is inserted into one such incision while the surgery is performed through the second incision.
Detailed View
However, robotic surgery allows for a much closer, more detailed view of the surgical field than laparoscopy affords. Laparoscopy gives only a 2-D view, while robotic surgery allows the surgeon a 3-D view of the surgical site. Robotic surgery also allows much more freedom of movement within the surgical field than does laparoscopy.
Doctors say that they can see better with the robotic surgical equipment and have much greater control of the instruments. These advantages translate to safer surgery. There's less trauma to delicate tissues, reduced blood loss, and much less post-operative pain. Patients are not only safer and more comfortable; they also recover much faster which means shorter hospital stays.
Minimally Invasive
In hospitals that have taken the plunge and invested in the robotic surgical equipment, gynecologists have seen their practices shift from using open incisions most of the time, to using the robotic, minimally invasive surgery in up to 70% of their surgeries. The advantages of this surgery over traditional, open incision surgeries are too big to ignore. There is the precision of movement afforded by the equipment as well as the much more detailed view of the surgical field that you just can't get with plain old traditional methods of surgery.
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