Robotic surgery (the use of robots to perform surgery) began in the 1980s. Because of the use of robotic arms that can move carefully within the small spaces of the human body, minimally invasive surgery, remote surgery, and unmanned surgery have all become possible. Major advantages of robotic surgery are precision, miniaturization, smaller incisions, decreased blood loss, less pain, and quicker healing time.

Minimally invasive surgery. For the patient, the advantage is that miniature hands can perform the work that previously had to be done by a human who almost certainly had larger fingers and hands. The less internal disruption the better it is for the patient. Another benefit is that robots are not limited to two hands. One of the most frequently used devices has four arms that are manipulated by the surgeon: One arm controls a camera that magnifies the internal organs so the surgeon has a clear picture of what is happening, and the other three arms are used for the surgery itself.

Remote surgery. In September 2001, Dr. Michel Gagner, working from New York, used a robotic system to remove the gall bladder of a woman in Strasbourg, France.

Unmanned surgery. In May 2006 the first unmanned robotic surgery took place. Unmanned surgery is the term used to describe a robot-guided process (rather than human-directed). A good example of it would be the threading of a catheter through a winding blood vessel or the precise placement of a needle where a very specific tissue sample needed to be removed.

Many general surgical procedures are now being performed robotically, for example, pancreatectomy or sectioning out a piece of a liver. Heart surgery is also being done robotically. Because the computer can provide a three-dimensional map of the heart and vasculature, it permits the robot to work carefully. The use of robots for minimally invasive gynecological surgery is also useful as it eliminates the need for large abdominal incisions. Neurosurgery, pediatric surgery, and surgery by urologists are a few of the other areas that are embracing robotic forms of surgery.

Further miniaturization of robots is actively underway. At Hebrew University in Jerusalem and the University of Nebraska Medical Center, scientists, engineers, and surgeons have been working collaboratively to create smaller and smaller robots that will minimize patient discomfort.

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