Robot assisted vasectomy

y reversals are becoming increasingly popular. With this technique, a surgeon uses a medical robot to perform the procedure.  The medical robot offers the surgeon the ability to rotate instruments more than 360 degrees through tiny incisions and assist in technically precise maneuvers involved in advanced, minimally invasive surgeries, like a vasectomy reversal. The robot’s every move is controlled by the surgeon and instead of standing over the patient, the surgeon sits at a console in the operating room and looks at a large monitor.  Major advantages of robotic technology to perform vasectomy reversals include:

3-D view:  Conventional microscopic vasectomy reversals only allow a 2-D view.

Depth perception is enhanced with the robotic platform, which is critical when operating in a field where sutures are finer than the human hair.

Angulation of the camera:  It is natural to turn and turn and angle your head to get the best view of an area.  In conventional surgery, the microscope only offers one, top-down view.  With the robotic technology, the surgeon can easily change the angle of the camera to get a better view.

Scaling of movement:  The robotic instruments can be scaled down in how much they move compared to the surgeon’s controls.  This allows for extreme precision.

Some studies comparing robot-assisted procedures with microsurgical vasectomy reversals show that the medical robot may help surgeons have improved visualization, it may help eliminate any tremors, and it decreases surgeon fatigue.  They also showed that the robotic procedure was faster than the conventional reversal because the robot allows the surgeons to use the instruments more efficiently.  Sperm count for both procedures were about the same, but the robotic procedure resulted in a quicker return of sperm count.¹

1. J Reconstr Microsurg. 2012 Sep;28(7):435-44. doi: 10.1055/s-0032-1315788. Epub 2012 Jun 28.