Operating rooms with a robot with mechanical arms in the shape of a spider on the anesthetized patient and that performs small and precise movements that are directed by a surgeon a few meters away in a type of console that offers a three-dimensional, high-definition vision. This image comes thanks to robotics, which is revolutionizing surgery in many ways.
We no longer speak in terms of science fiction. Robotics in surgery is not a mere abstract concept but a reality and a technique that is shaping many of today’s surgical interventions. A reality that is reflected in actions such as the incorporation, by the Jiménez Díaz Foundation University Hospitalof a second Da Vinci Xi robot, making it the first hospital in the Community of Madrid to have two of these devices. Since it began its program in 2019, the hospital has performed more than 1,300 interventions with this technology.
“With the incorporation of this second platform we take another step in promoting a type of surgery with clear benefits for the patient, expanding to other types of specialties where it also gives excellent results,” says Doctor Juan Rey, medical director of the King Juan Carlos University Hospital (HURJC). This center began its multidisciplinary robotic program in 2012.
To this is added one more, in this case of Infanta Elena University Hospital de Valdemoro, which also begins its journey in the field of robotic surgery with the imminent incorporation of its first Da Vinci robot. With this new addition, the four public hospitals—including the General University Hospital of Villalba (HUGV)—offer surgery assisted by said robot.
Advantages of surgical robots
Health care is people-centered. To this end, and although it may seem contradictory, technology can help achieve this by providing higher quality care to your patients. Minimally invasive surgery has revolutionized the field of Medicine by offering precision, flexibility and control. As this technology advances, the capabilities of robotic-assisted surgeries provide new possibilities for human care and improved treatment outcomes.
We should think of the robotic system as a supercomputer that allows the machine to translate the surgeon’s movements in real time, allowing for greater precision because the movements are smaller. This type of minimally invasive surgery integrates several robotic arms, a high-definition camera and a surgical console in which the surgeon controls each movement of the camera with specialized instruments.
Robotic surgery, which does not replace the surgeon, is capable of neutralizing any tremor or vibration in your hands and also offers you a high-definition 3D view that magnifies more than ten times what the human eye is capable of seeing.
These complex machines imitate the action of the surgeon. Its implementation has drastically increased the precision of surgical procedures. Designed for use in a wide variety of surgical procedures, surgical robots such as Da Vinci technology have excelled in performing highly complex minimally invasive interventions.
The fact is that it offers clear advantages, as demonstrated by this study published in International Journal of Social Robotics. Some of the most obvious are greater ease of suturing, dissection and freedom of movement. And, for the patient, it offers less trauma, less pain, shorter hospital stays and, therefore, better functional and oncological results and faster postoperative recovery and with fewer risks of complications.
Applications of robotic surgery
Robotics is not limited to general surgeries; has the potential to revolutionize a wide range of specialties by offering minimally invasive solutions for complex procedures. The agility offered by robotic systems can be used in different specialties.
One of the services that the Da Vinci robot has used the most is Urology for the removal of the prostate or interventions related to kidney tumor and bladder cancer because “it allows greater freedom of movement compared to its conventional laparoscopic alternative.” ”says Doctor Miguel Sánchez Encinas, head of the Urology Service at HURJC.

In the field of thoracic surgery, robotics has allowed progress in the removal of areas of the lung affected by processes such as lung cancer or other tumors, among others. Regarding surgery of the digestive system, the use of Da Vinci has also represented a significant advance over conventional laparoscopic surgery in several areas, such as colorectal; pelvic floor dysfunctions or transanal surgery, among others.
Otorhinolaryngology also benefits from its advantages, especially for oncology patients and oropharyngeal surgeries thanks to the fact that “it is not necessary to make incisions in the patient’s body since the robot arm is introduced through the mouth through a single port”, admits Doctor Raimundo Gutiérrez, head of the Otorhinolaryngology Service at the Rey Juan Carlos University Hospital.

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