Robot-Assisted Surgery

Types of Robotic-Assisted Surgery Procedures Performed at Mayo Clinic

Robotic surgery is performed for a wide variety of purposes at Mayo Clinic:

Abdominal Surgery

Hernia repairs, cholecystectomies (gall bladder removal) and gastrointestinal surgery

Cardiovascular

Surgical instruments are attached to robotic arms, controlled by the surgeon.

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At Mayo Clinic in Rochester, cardiac surgeons have found that robotic technology allows them to approach, and in some instances exceed, the level of technical precision possible with a traditional open-chest approach for certain procedures. Mayo uses the newest robotic system, which provides three (rather than two) instruments that the surgeon can quickly shift between as needed. See more at minimally invasive heart surgery.

Mayo cardiac surgeons use robotic technology to perform:

• Aortic valve surgery
• Mitral valve surgery
• Tricuspid valve surgery
• Atrial septal defect closure, including patent foramen ovale
• Atrioventricular canal defect (also called atrio-ventricular septal defect) surgery
• Atrial fibrillation surgery (maze procedure)
• "Off-pump" coronary artery bypass surgery (without the use of cardiopulmonary bypass machine), also sometimes called minimally invasive direct coronary bypass (MIDCAB)?
• Saphenous vein harvest for coronary artery bypass (CABG) surgery?

Mayo Clinic physicians are also experimenting with new techniques in their surgical laboratory to make robot-assisted surgery an option for more cardiovascular procedures.

Gynecology

"Robotic surgery is especially useful in the performance of hysterectomies, removal of fibroids while preserving the uterus, correction of vaginal prolapse, and for the treatment of gynecologic cancers," says Javier Magrina, M.D., gynecologist and surgeon at Mayo Clinic in Arizona.

Uses of robotic gynecologic surgery include:

• Hysterectomy (removal of the uterus)
• Myomectomy (removal of noncancerous fibroids while preserving the uterus)
• Removal of benign or cancerous tumors of the cervix, uterus and vagina
• Endometriosis
• Correction of pelvic organ prolapse, particularly sacrocolpopexy (correction of vaginal vault prolapse) paravaginal defect repair, utero-sacral ligament suspension
• Repair of vaginal fistulas

Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery

Robotic surgery through the mouth is used for removal of tonsillar cancer, tongue-base cancer, epiglottic/supraglottic cancer and laryngeal cancer.

Urology

Radical prostatectomy to treat prostate cancer is one of the most common robotic procedures. Other urologic conditions sometimes treated with robotic surgery include:

• Correction of pelvic organ prolapse
• Partial nephrectomy for kidney cancer
• Radical cystectomy and urinary reconstruction
• Ureteropelvic junction obstruction