A new study revealed that robotic surgery could help people undergo operations to get improved and faster results. Based on the findings, people who take this type of approach have a 52 percent chance of being readmitted for the same condition.
Moreover, experts also found a whopping 77 percent decrease in the blood clots, particularly in the deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary emboli, in patients that take robot-based procedures. The blood clots in the specified regions are a common cause of a range of morbidity and other severe conditions.
The authors said that, by the robotic procedures, the risk of having these problems is lesser compared to patients that took the conventional open surgery.
Impacts of Robotic Surgery
Surgeons carry out a surgery with a da Vinci Xi robotic surgical system at the Robert-Debre Hospital in Paris, on April 5, 2019. - Despite debates over the added value relative to their cost, surgical robots are on the rise. In the past 20 years the pioneer and world leader in the sector US group Intuitive Surgical has already installed more than 4,800 robots of its da Vinci range in the world, including 144 in France. Its robots have already been involved in more than 6 million surgical procedures worldwide, including one million just last year, a clear sign of the sharp acceleration of demand.
This new research on medical robotics found that the method has a more positive effect on surgery patients when the robotic procedures are combined with physical activity monitoring. When wearable smart sensors were utilized by patients, a stunning improvement in stamina and quality of life was observed.
The latest study on medical robotics presents the first-ever strongest evidence of the effects of robot-assisted surgeries, the authors said. Because of the findings, experts are pushing the surgical option to be clinically approved by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence or NICE across facilities in the United Kingdom.
Once accepted, the robotic procedure is expected to be a major part of gastrointestinal, colorectal, and gynecological surgeries, EurekAlert reports.
University of Sheffield's Department of Oncology and Metabolism specialist James Catto, who also co-authored the study, explained that the findings from this advanced surgical method offer a significant benefit to hospitals, as procedures would become short and recovery of patients would be faster than ever.
The robotic system would ease the bed pressures incurred by the National Health Services and allow patients to return to their own comforts more quickly, Catto continued.
Future of Robot-Assisted Surgical Operations
In addition to the clinical results, the study is likely to be a significant part of global healthcare's future trends. Catto said that, through the process, the monitoring after discharge of surgery patients would also be available to understand more about the development of implications post-operation.
It would also be possible to monitor the walking data through the system, allowing specialists to learn about the specific needs of patients such as visits to their local health experts as well as check-ups in their respective hospitals, the authors added.
University College London's Division of Surgery and Interventional Science expert John Kelly, who also co-authored the research, said that despite the availability of robot-assisted surgeries, there are still no definitive clinical evaluations on these methods and their impacts on the recovery of the patients.
The new study demonstrates the first comparative analysis of the advanced robotic approach to the conventional open surgeries, considering the reduction of readmission rates, lesser time of patients in hospitals, post-operation fitness improvement, as well as the quality of life of those who underwent the novel robotic technique, Kelly said.
The findings were published in the journal JAMA, titled "Effect of Robot-Assisted Radical Cystectomy With Intracorporeal Urinary Diversion vs Open Radical Cystectomy on 90-Day Morbidity and Mortality Among Patients With Bladder Cancer: A Randomized Clinical Trial"
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