The History of Robotics in Surgical Specialties

Over 25 years ago a major positive step in the field of surgery was made when a robot was first used in the theater of surgery. The robot was a PUMA 200 (Westinghouse Electric, Pittsburgh, PA) which was used for needle placement in a CT-guided brain biopsy.¹ Since then it has been exciting to see that the field of robotic surgery grow in leaps and bounds. Part of the reason for this is the plethora of benefits afforded by robotics that are simply absent in traditional surgical methods. For example, robots offer stability, accuracy, integration with modern imaging technology, greater range of motion, and telesurgery, in addition to multiple other benefits inherent to individual surgical specialties.² Since the introduction of robotic surgery, many advances have been made in the field. In order to fully utilize the potential of the surgical robot it is important to understand the past in order to build towards the future. In order to understand the past, it is important to look at both the advances and achievements of robotic surgery in the various fields of surgery such as otolaryngological, neurosurgery, gynecological, cardiothoracic, gastric, urologic, orthopedic, endoscopy, and miniature after which the future developments that are on the horizon can be evaluated. This article will enumerate major milestones and will continue with limitations in subsequent articles.