Good visibility and filigree incisions – among other things, this allows operating with robot-assisted systems like here at the University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein.
Image: dpa
Patients are increasingly faced with the question: should I be operated on with the help of robot technology – or conventionally? To make the decision easier, our author asked surgeons.
Is a robot really operating on me?
It doesn’t matter which surgeon you talk to, it’s important for everyone to emphasize: no, the patient is operated on by a doctor. Completely independent of the technique, it is therefore still a question of the skills of the surgeon. He is responsible. For this reason, surgeons prefer to speak of an assistive surgical technique rather than robotic surgery. Professor Andreas Seekamp, Director of the Clinic for Orthopedics and Trauma Surgery at the University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, says that a few years ago there were actually operations that were carried out solely by robots. However, this was abandoned again: “There were too many side effects and incorrect cuts, and these operations also took a very long time. I don’t think you’ll ever come back to that.