ABSTRACT
Given its proven association with reduced morbidity, faster recovery, shorter hospitalization, less infection, and better cosmesis, laparoscopic surgery has played a key role in gynecology for more than two decades. In many centers, laparoscopy is now the preferred surgical approach for both basic and advanced operations including the full gamut of hysterectomy, myomectomy, pelvic floor repair, resection of endometriosis, and even oncologic surgeries. But laparoscopy also presents some well-known technical challenges for the surgeon including the need to switch from three-dimensional to two-dimensional views, the loss of depth perception, the amplification of tremor or movement by long and rigid instruments, diminished tactile feedback, and the fulcrum effect from trocar position. Since U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for clinical use in 2000 and then for hysterectomy in 2005, the da Vinci Robotic Surgical System (Intuitive Surgical, Sunnyvale, California) has been successfully integrated into the gynecologic armamentarium for assisting the full spectrum of laparoscopic procedures. The underlying reasons for the rapid adaptation originate from the advantages of a robotic surgical system, including improved surgeon dexterity, surgical precision, and ergonomics.
