Robotic-Assisted Surgery for the Treatment of Breast and Cervical Cancers

BACKGROUND: Robotic-assisted surgery facilitates the performance of numerous, complex procedures, namely conferring precision, flexibility, and control that is otherwise unavailable with conventional laparoscopy; and compared to open surgery, robotic-assisted surgery is ostensibly associated with fewer complications, reduced intraoperative complications, and shorter hospital stay duration. Nevertheless, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Food and Drug Administration have criticized the pervasive acceptance of robotic-assisted surgery, given the absence of randomized clinical trial data compared to traditional laparoscopy and open procedures, not to mention the increased surgical cost. CONCLUSIONS: While the research data continue to be borne out, surgeons should exercise considerable discretion in selecting the surgical approach from which their patients would derive the greatest clinical benefit.