Lung cancer, the most common cause of cancer-related deaths, can be treated successfully in its early stages.
What is the difference between robotic surgery and open and other close surgeries?
In the treatment of lung diseases and lung cancer, robotic or robot-assisted surgery provides surgeons with greater accuracy, flexibility, control, and safety during complex procedures compared to conventional methods. Lymph node removal in lung cancer can be performed more successfully than with video-assisted surgeries, giving robotic techniques oncological advantages. Robotic surgery is a type of minimally invasive, or "closed," surgery performed through small incisions. In thoracic surgery, the superiority of video-assisted or thoracoscopic procedures over open surgeries has been demonstrated. After the da Vinci robot was approved by the FDA in the US in 2000, robotic surgery rapidly became common in American and European hospitals for treating various conditions.
Robotic surgery involves a camera arm and mechanical arms to which surgical tools are attached. The surgeon sits at a computer console near the operating table and controls the robotic arms during the operation. The console provides the surgeon with a high-resolution, magnified, and 3D image of the surgical site, allowing the surgeon to direct the surgical team efficiently from the console.
What are the advantages?
Compared to conventional methods, surgeons using robotic systems benefit from greater accuracy, flexibility, control, and an enhanced view of the surgical site during operations. The tools used in robotic surgery offer wrist-like flexibility inside the chest cavity, enabling surgeons to perform sensitive and complex procedures that might be difficult or impossible with traditional techniques.
Minimally invasive robotic surgery offers several advantages: fewer complications (such as wound site infections), less pain, reduced blood loss, faster recovery, and smaller, less noticeable surgical scars.
Are there any risks?
In robotic surgery, the complications associated with conventional methods are less common. Robotic equipment minimizes damage to surrounding tissues within the thoracic cavity, thereby reducing the overall complication rate.
Is every patient eligible?
Robotic surgery may not be suitable for all patients. The surgeon will inform the patient about their eligibility for robotic surgery and explain the benefits and risks by comparing it with other options, such as open surgery and video-assisted surgery.
For which diseases it should be preferred?
Robotic surgery is a safe and effective option for many conditions treated in thoracic surgery. These include early-stage lung cancers, tumors and cysts located in the mediastinum (the area between the lungs), diaphragm diseases, thymoma, and Myasthenia Gravis (thymectomy). Robotic methods offer oncological advantages, especially in lung cancer, as lymph node removal is often more successful than with video-assisted surgeries.
* Liv Hospital Editorial Board has contributed to the publication of this content .
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