BERKELEY, CA (UroToday.com) - The evolution of robots in general and as platforms to augment surgical practice is an intriguing story that spans cultures, continents and centuries.
A timeline from Yan Shi (1023 – 957 bc), Archytas of Tarentum (400 bc), Aristotle (322 bc), Heron of Alexandria (10 – 70 ad ), Leonardo da Vinci (1495), the Industrial Revolution (1790), ‘telepresence’ (1950) and to the da Vinci® Surgical System (1999), shows the incredible depth of history and development that underpins the modern surgical robot we use to treat our patients. Robot-assisted surgery is now well-established in Urology and although not currently regarded as a ‘gold standard’ approach for any urological procedure, it is being increasingly used for index operations of the prostate, kidney and bladder. We perceive that robotic evolution will continue infi nitely, securing the place of robots in the history of Urological surgery. Herein, we detail the history of robots in general, in surgery and in Urology, highlighting the current place of robot-assisted surgery in radical prostatectomy, partial nephrectomy, pyeloplasty and radical cystectomy...View or save the full text Mini Review as a .pdf file
David R. Yates, Christophe Vaessen, and Morgan Roupret
Academic Urology Department, la Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Paris, France
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