Telementoring and Telesurgery: Future or Fiction?

Abstract

In conclusion, telementoring has been shown to be feasible, inexpensive and an effective tool to facilitate the development of surgical training in remote locations. Currently, its major limitations reside within limited access to trainers, perceived need, and the slow trickle of technology into the operating room. Long distance telesurgery, despite network latency and jitter, has been shown to be feasible, effective but very expensive. It requires significant amount of resources, including a robot in the remote centre, and bedside assistants that are capable of providing a fallback plan in case of technical failure. Ongoing clinical needs and evolving robotic and telecommunication technology are currently being evaluated.