How Does Robotic-Assisted Surgery Work?
• The surgeon works at the computer console. There is an O.R. team by the patient’s bed, along with the robotic equipment. • The doctor makes tiny incisions about the size of a dime and guides the robotic arms with attached instruments and a tiny camera through the incisions (or “ports”). • At the computer console, the surgeon looks through a camera which magnifies the organs and other structures inside the body by 10x. By comparison, most laparoscopic surgeries provide doctors with 4x magnification. • The surgeon can change the surgical view instantly, using foot pedals to zoom in and out. • The movement of the surgeon’s fingers is transmitted via the computer console to the instruments on the robotic arms. These instruments mimic the movements of the surgeon’s hands and wrists. They have the same 360-degree range of motion that the surgeon has. This gives the doctor an ambidextrous capability and terrific surgical precision. • The surgeon is always in control, sitting at the console
