Cardiovascular surgery

▪ Surgical robotics systems have enabled surgeons to treat otherwise untreatable conditions, while reducing morbidity and error rates, shortening operative times, reducing radiation exposure and improving overall workflow. ▪ Robotic surgery allows for better (3D) visualization and intuitive, precise manipulation, and has therefore been explored as an alternative and adjunct to laparoscopic aortic repair, a difficult operation with long operative times and steep learning curves, which has been poorly adopted. ▪ Studies have demonstrated lower rates of mortality and morbidity (e.g., decreased rates of stroke, bleeding and infection, among others), shorter length of stay, faster recovery time, lower costs and equivalent angiographic quality to robotic coronary artery bypass grafting. ▪ Disadvantages of robotic cardiac surgery include loss of haptic feedback, without which the surgeon's acuity can be impaired due to qualitative loss of perceived force applied to tissues within the surgical field. ▪ A first-in-man trial of flexible robotic catheters demonstrated feasibility and safety of this technology for the treatment of peripheral vascular disease in iliac and femoral arteries with occlusive disease. ▪ The future of cardiovascular surgery lies in the ability to employ procedures that afford faster recovery times, minimal invasiveness, less perioperative complications, faster turnover times and applicability over medical-based treatments.