What's The Difference Betwen Da Vinci Robotic Surgery And Traditional Open Surgery?
Surgical medicine has changed a lot over the last several decades. One of the more recent surgical innovations involves a robotic surgery technique known as the da Vinci surgical system. If you are soon to undergo a major surgery and are looking for alternatives to the standard procedure, understanding the difference between da Vinci surgery and traditional open surgery can help you decide if robotic surgery is right for you.
What's the difference between robotic surgery and traditional open surgery?
Traditional open surgery is done by cutting open the body through a long slit in the skin, cracking open the chest cavity if necessary, and using this opening to make whatever changes are required to help the patient.
Robotic surgery is conducted with a highly dexterous, very precise robotic arm that can bend in more directions and at sharper angles than a human arm. Robotic surgery is performed by making a few tiny slits in the skin of the patient. Through these tiny incisions, the robotic arm can perform surgery on a variety of systems found inside the body. Robotic arms are used to perform surgery on parts of the chest, head, neck, torso and other areas.
What are the advantages of robotic surgery?
Compared to traditional surgery, robotic surgery is minimally invasive. Without a long incision along the skin, robotic surgery can require less healing time and may involve less pain during the recovery period. This enables the patient to return to normal life more quickly than traditional surgical techniques.
In addition, incisions made in robotic surgery are smaller and less noticeable. This means that patients who undergo robotic surgery will have less obvious scars when the body has healed. For patients who undergo surgery in a spot not normally covered by clothes, this enables the patient to feel more normal after the surgery, and less changed by the procedure.
Finally, the fact that robotic surgery is performed by a mechanical arm enables the surgeon to work with greater precision and accuracy, which may result in fewer mistakes during the procedure.
How can you find out if robotic surgery can be used for your upcoming surgery?
If you are waiting for a surgery to be scheduled soon and you wish to find out if robotic surgery is right for your circumstances, talk to a physician who is experienced with robotic surgical equipment. Talking to an expert can help you to decide whether or not robotic surgery is a good option for you.