Robotic Telesurgery: Benefits Beyond Barriers

Abstract

Since the inception of robotic surgery in the 1980’s, there has been tremendous progress in this field, with the development of advanced machines. Developments in information technology has enabled surgeons to perform surgical procedures remotely on patients located in different geographic areas. This paper aims to study the current applications and latest advances in information technology related to robotic telesurgery. Literature search was conducted using PubMed. Articles describing the origin, implementation and latest developments in the field of robotic telesurgery were identified. Special focus was placed on studying the information technology required for setting up of a telesurgery system. Studies have shown that computer enhanced robotic telesurgery is a safe and effective treatment method for a variety of diseases. Researchers were successful in completing multiple telerobotic surgeries of the gastrointestinal tract with no significant complications or increase in postoperative stay. In addition to fiber optic networks, commercially available networks like Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) have also been used successfully for telesurgery.