Robotic Hernia Surgery

Robotic-Assisted surgery is an advanced form of minimally invasive surgery (laparoscopy). Traditional laparoscopic surgery has involved the use of 3 or 4 small holes, rather than one large one, to gain access to the inside of the abdominal cavity in order to perform surgical procedures.   Laparoscopy has been revolutionary in surgery over the past 25 plus years and has allowed for faster and improved surgical recovery for many common surgical procedures.

Despite the major advantages of laparoscopic surgery, there have always been some technical limitations with the instruments used to perform laparoscopic surgery. As a result, some major surgeries have not been able to be reliably performed laparoscopically and have nearly always required traditional “open” surgery. Talk to your hernia surgeon to see if your surgery could be done laparoscopically.

Laparoscopic instruments are essentially normal surgical instruments that have been miniaturized in order to fit into a small ¼” hole. These instruments can only open and close in order to grasp and/or cut tissue, they do not bend or articulate, in any way, and therefore they can only be used on tissues that are “straight” across from where they are placed through the skin. Additionally, the limited range of motion within these instruments has meant that certain tissues cannot be “sewn” in the traditional manner of surgery with needle and thread but require the use of alternative instruments such as staples and/or tacks.