Robot-assisted surgeries in oral and maxillofacial area: a narrative review on the present, advantages and its future

Abstract

To survey the advantages, future prospects, and cases using robotic systems in oromaxillofacial surgery.Background: With the accumulation of advances in minimally invasive surgery in the entire body area, robot-assisted surgeries have become very common in operating rooms, despite of their short history. Thus, advances in robotic surgery are accelerating rapidly, particularly with respect to the maxillofacial region. In this regard, researchers reviewed the literatures using the keywords given below, including systematic metaanalysis.Methods: The report follows the format of the "narrative review" and reviewed literatures extracted from the PubMed database since 1980 when 'Robotic surgical procedures', 'neck dissection' and 'oral surgery' were searched.Conclusions: Robotic surgery in the oral and maxillofacial region allows the incision to hide the scar by making the incision line far from the surgical field, resulting in fewer intra-operative and post-operative complications, such as amount of drainage or hospital days. Furthermore, recent studies show similar or superior results in terms of oncologic safety of robot assisted surgeries compared to conventional surgeries.Robotic surgery is likely to extend throughout the oral and maxillofacial region once it becomes capable of manipulating bone such as in osteotomies, particularly as robotic systems become smaller. When combined with artificial intelligence technology, the surgical robot will become more useful and powerful in relieving human suffering.

Computational Intelligence in Metric Analysis of the Skull in the Context of Maxillofacial Surgery

“…The paper forms a contribution to the increasing role of the computational intelligence and visualization tools in surgery. The direct consequence of the very fast technological progress is the more extensive use of the three-dimensional treatment planning with 3D reconstruction, especially in connection with 3D printing and experimental robotic-assisted surgery [40], [41].…”

The interrelation between science and surgery in the oralmaxillofacial (OMF) field

“…6 More studies and technical modifications are required before robots become the standard treatment paradigm. 6,8 Nonetheless, the use of robots in OMF surgery is an application of science in surgery.…”