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Over the past 5 years, I've repaired
about 35 inguinal hernias using a
robotic surgical system, which is a
paltry number compared with the
nearly 2,000 I've performed laparo-
scopically throughout my career.
But I'm confident those numbers
will likely come closer together in
the years ahead. Here's why.
• Benefits to the patient. A robot-
ic surgical system's 3D optics and
precise motion are far superior to
that of its laparoscopic counterpart, meaning there's much less
of a chance of injuring surrounding structures. Also, the 360-
degree rotation of the robotic wrist is vastly superior to the 180-
degree rotation of the human wrist, so the arm articulation
makes it easier to suture for seamless fixation.
• Benefits to the surgeon. If you've mastered laparoscopic her-
nia repair, there tends to be a relatively short learning curve with
robotics. In addition, when you're using a robotics system, you're
sitting at a console away from the patient's bedside — theoreti-
cally, you could be doing the surgery on a patient who's across
the country — and I find that little bit of distance makes the sur-
gery less stressful.
• Benefits to the surgical facility. A surgeon has only 2 hands,
so in a laparoscopic case you need other people to hold the
instruments for you. With a robotic case, I can essentially control
4 different arms holding the camera and the instruments, which
ROBOTIC ARMS RACE
Can Robotics Yield Better Outcomes in Hernia Repair?
• AT EASE A surgeon might find that sitting at the
robotics console, away from the patient's bedside,
removes some stress from hernia repair surgery.
Mark
A.
Reiner,
MD
