Telesurgery and Robotics: Current Status and Future Perspectives

Abstract

The concept of telehealth has revolutionized the healthcare delivery system. Based on this concept, telesurgery has emerged as a promising and feasible option, providing surgical care to remotely located patients. This has become possible by advancements in the robotic system combined with the cutting-edge technology of telecommunication. Since the ability to perform telepresence surgery was hypothesized, consistent development and research in this novel area have led to the beginning of telesurgical care, which can fulfill the demand for surgical care in remote locations. In addition to the benefits of robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgery, telesurgery eliminates geographical barriers, which helps patients have better access to quality surgical care. It may reduce the overall financial burden by eliminating the travel expense of the patients, providing expertise through the telepresence of experienced surgeons, and reducing the operating room personnel. The telesurgical approach is also being utilized for telementoring, i.e., real-time guidance and technical assistance in surgical procedures by highly skilled surgeons. Despite the numerous technological improvements in telesurgery, its widespread implementation in clinical setting still lags, mandating the identification of the offending factors that limit its clinical translation.

Telemedicine and Robotic Surgery: A Narrative Review to Analyze Advantages, Limitations and Future Developments

“…Telesurgery intricately integrates surgical robotic systems with state-of-the-art communication technology, constituting remotely conducted surgical procedures with rapid data transmission across networks. Within the realm of telesurgery, the robotic system maintains direct contact with the patient while the surgeon orchestrates the surgical procedure from a remote console [8]. In this innovative approach, medical data, encompassing imaging, audio, and video components, undergoes digitization and is swiftly transmitted through either wired or wireless telecommunication networks [9].…”

“…Minimized travel burden: telesurgery significantly alleviates the burden on patients, allowing them to reduce extensive travel requirements associated with receiving specialized medical procedures. This reduction in travel is not merely a matter of convenience; it addresses broader issues such as financial constraints, health risks, travel restrictions, and time delays [8,28]. • Addressing surgeon shortages: telesurgery emerges as a potential panacea for the global shortage of surgeons.…”

“…Real-time collaborations: telesurgery facilitates seamless real-time collaborations between surgical professionals stationed at different healthcare facilities. This interconnectedness not only promotes knowledge sharing but also enhances the collective expertise of the surgical community, ultimately benefiting patients through a collaborative and interdisciplinary approach to healthcare [6,8,28].…”

“…Additionally, the presence of a complete surgical team in the operating room to intervene in case of communication loss with the remote surgeon adds to the overall costs. Consequently, even if the communication means and the surgical robots are available at both hospitals, the cost of the operation remains higher compared to robotic surgery performed within the same facility [5,8,17].…”