Robotic assisted surgery? No! The robot is NOT your surgeon!

You’re about to have robot assisted surgery (RAS)? You’re more fearful of this surgery than usual?

Relax. Well, as much as you can. Most of us experience a fair level of stress when we are about to undergo surgery.

Rest assured that with RAS, your surgeon will perform your operation. Your surgeon and their team will be at your bedside in the operating theatre with you. They will have complete control of your operation. From a console, your surgeon will manipulate and direct the navigation of robotic tools, using tiny cameras, to a very precise location in your body.

RAS has come a long way in the last forty plus years. It was first used in 1981 in an appendectomy, then to reduce hand tremors in a brain biopsy and later for hip replacement. There has been a significant rise of integrating RAS with general surgery worldwide, including in Australia

RAS is seen as safe or safer than traditional surgery.  But all surgery comes with some risk. Your doctor will have explained this to you.

RAS can be less invasive than complex open surgery. Resulting scars can be smaller and less visible. There can be less pain and fewer complications. Best of all for patients, their hospital stay could be shorter, their recovery time faster and they could be quicker to resume normal activities.

If you are still hesitant about having robot assisted surgery, ask your doctor:

• Am I a good candidate for robot assisted surgery?
• Is robot-assisted surgery better for me than traditional surgery? (The scar might be smaller, but will the outcome be the same or better with traditional surgery?)
• What are the benefits and risks compared with traditional surgery?
• What will be the surgeon’s role?
• How will the robot work inside my body?

And here are some suggested questions if you are having any innovative or break through surgical procedure. These are adapted from the article referenced below:

• what is ‘new’ about the procedure, why is it innovative and why is it right for you
• what precipitated the need for this innovation
• where has it been tried, or never tried, before
• what are the success and failure rates
• what alternative treatments are available and how is this innovation better for you, the patient
• what potential conflicts of interest exist, if any
• what are the unknown unknowns about this procedure eg how safe and effecitve is it and in what circumstances
• what is the surgical team’s expertise with this innovation; and
• what happens if something goes wrong. Who is accountable and responsible. What are your rights as a patient if something goes wrong.

Reference