Who Is a Candidate for Robotic Surgery?

Robotic surgery is available for a number of urologic surgeries and to a wide variety of people. The da Vinci Surgical System is being used for benign and malignant (cancerous) procedures in adults and children.

Sometimes, people are unable to tolerate the inflation of the abdomen with carbon dioxide. This is most common in smokers, who already have higher levels of carbon dioxide in the blood than nonsmokers. In this case, it is difficult to provide enough oxygen to the body and it may be no longer safe to proceed. The robot would be removed and an open incision made to complete the surgery.

Learn more about Robotic Surgery

Occasionally people are unable to tolerate the positioning for some types of urologic surgery such as prostate removal, bladder removal or bladder suspension. For these surgeries, the bed is tilted with the head closer to the floor and the legs closer to the ceiling or “Trendelenburg” position. This causes the intestines to move away from the pelvis and provides better vision and access to the surgical area. This position can make it difficult to provide oxygen at a safe pressure to the lungs.

This is more common in overweight people as the Trendelenburg position shifts the weight of the intestines and the abdominal girth to put pressure on the respiratory muscle (diaphragm) and lungs. In this case, the robot would be removed and an open incision made to complete the surgery.

Benefits of Minimally Invasive Surgery for Urologic Conditions