Nicole L. Miller, MD, FACS, Associate Professor of Urology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, discusses advances in robotics that could transform rigid endoscopic surgery by giving surgeons more degrees of freedom while operating. She argues that the evolution from open surgery to minimally-invasive surgery is perhaps as significant as the discovery of anesthesia and suggests that improved robotics are continuing this surgical revolution. Dr. Miller focuses on the work of Virtuoso Surgical, Inc., which has developed a prototype for transurethral endoscopy that features two needle-sized robotic arms that allow for complex two-handed maneuvers in the smallest surgical sites in the body. She suggests that this tool and others like it could make HoLEP faster and easier, improve en-bloc resection quality in bladder tumor patients, and improve resection of uterine polyps, among other applications.
