Robot-Assisted Gynecologic Surgery

The concept of ‘robot’ has always appealed to people. When it comes to robot-assisted surgery, the first question that comes to mind is 'Is a robot performing the surgery?’ We can easily say 'no' to this question. It is a surgeon who performs the surgery, not a robot. In robotic surgery, the surgeon gives commands to the robot, and the arms on the patient console perform the operation by simultaneously executing all the commands received from the surgeon.

The most important difference of robot-assisted surgery is that the surgeon can see the surgical site much more clearly, closely, in 3D, thanks to the robot's capabilities, and feels less tired because he works sitting down and can use many similar advantages.

Robot-assisted surgery is a type of minimally invasive surgery which is performed using  special surgical instruments inserted through incisions smaller than 1 cm with less damage to the surrounding tissues, instead of operating on the patient through a large incision. The robotic surgical system includes a camera arm and several mechanical arms to which surgical instruments are attached. The surgeon controls the instruments and the camera from a console in the operating room. This console gives the surgeon a high-resolution, magnified and 3-dimensional image of the area that is invisible to the normal eye. 

The robot perfects the surgery by transferring the movements of the surgeon's hand to the robotic arms which work like artificial hands, mimic the movements of human wrist and reach where the surgeon's hands and tools cannot reach or may harm the environment while reaching in open surgeries.

Da Vinci robotic-assisted surgical system, which has been actively used in Turkey for about 10 years, is applied on the basis of minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery. There are approximately 4,000 robotic-assisted surgical systems in the world and nearly 4 million surgeries have been successfully performed to date. There are 34 robotic-assisted surgical systems in Turkey. It is used extensively in public, private and university hospitals.

 All gynecological surgeries that can be performed with laparoscopic surgery, popularly known as closed surgery, can also be performed with the robot.

• Hysterectomy (removal of the uterus)
• Myomectomy
• Endometriosis and endometrioma (chocolate cyst)
• Ovarian surgeries
• Pelvic Organ Prolapse (uterine prolapse)
• Gynecologic Cancers
• Opening the Blocked Fallopian Tubes

Robot-assisted surgery, which is the most advanced technology in surgical procedures, was first used in cardiovascular surgery in 1994. In the following years, urologic surgeries became their most common use.

 Robot-assisted surgery, which offers great convenience in the surgical field and patient comfort, can be used for treatment of many diseases in the abdomen. The surgeon conducts the surgery remotely using a special robotic surgical system. Surgical interventions are performed with special instruments which are inserted into the abdominal cavity through small incisions on the abdominal wall and then attached to the robotic system. Even the finest detail is seen thanks to the advanced camera system.

Obstetrics and Gynecology: Uterine cancers, uterine prolapse, hysterectomy, Myoma (fibroid), chocolate cyst
Urology: Bladder cancer, prostate cancer, kidney cancer

Cardiac Surgery: Heart valve and bypass surgery
General Surgery: Large bowel surgery, obesity surgery, pancreas, hernias

Robot-assisted surgeries stand out in terms of both the patient's quality of life and great convenience provided for the surgeon and the patient.

• Shorter hospital stay
• Reduced risk of infection
• Reduced blood loss and need for transfusion
• Less pain
• Fast recovery
• Faster return to daily life 
• Small scar