| [ Summary ] |
Robotic surgery has been introduced as a new approach worldwide, but primarily in the United States. The da Vinci® Surgical System has been gradually employed for use in many fields in Japan, including gastroenterological surgery. Laparoscopic surgery provides many positive features including magnified views, shared images for operators and other staff members, as well as reduced pain after surgery. In addition to these merits of laproscopic surgery, robotic-assisted laparoscopic rectal surgery provides many other useful benefits, including three dimensional Hi-Vision stable images which are controlled by the operator, EndoWrist® instruments which emulate human wrist and finger, motion scaling and tremor filtration. In robotic-assisted surgery, the conversion rate is lower, and the learning curve is shorter, while voiding and sexual dysfunction complications are less often seen than with conventional laparoscopic surgery. Operating time, estimated blood loss, postoperative complications and circumferential resection margins are not significantly different in robotic-assisted surgery or laparoscopic surgery. Although cost is one and a half times as much as conventional laparoscopic surgery, robotic-assisted surgery is a very useful option for rectal surgery. |