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Is demand for robotic-assisted
surgery growing?
I think so. My practice for non-emergency surgeries is
about 90% robotics. The technology is arguably the
standard of care for urology, GYN and oncology.
General surgery and general surgery subspecial-
ties are in a rapid adoption curve, particularly
for hernia, colorectal and thoracic procedures.
I'm the founding director of the Institute for
Defense Robotic Surgical Education. The fed-
eral owned, federal-run site has trained over
the past year 41 surgeons from 21 different
federal and military facilities. Demand is so
high that we project to have a year-long back-
log.
What makes the training program
different from others?
The bulk of robotic training focuses on the sur-
geon. However, robotics is a very specialized
way to do surgery, so the surgeon will struggle if the
entire team is not comfortable with the robot. That's
why we also train circulator nurses and surgical
techs along with the surgeons. As robotics
becomes more widely used, getting teams to
trust the robot and themselves will be key to
uilding Trust Between
Surgical Teams and Robots
B
Joshua Tyler, MD, FACS, FASCRS
Air force surgeon and robotics revolutionary.