Robotic surgery for urologic malignancy- Prostate, kidney and bladder

Robotic-assisted surgery has been wide-spreading rapidly as a technique to develop laparoscopic surgery by innovative technological improvement such as high magnifided 3D-image and multi-degree freedom of forceps, leading to safety enhancement and better functional recovery. Robotic surgery in the urological field made it possible to highly fine operation in a narrow field, such as pelvic cavity or retroperitoneal space. Better outcomes were recognized especially in perioperative complications and postoperative QOL recovery than other procedures like open or laparoscopic. According to these results, radical prostatectomy, partial nephrectomy and radical cystectomy were approved for health insurance coverage in 2012, 2016 and 2018, respectively. Robotic-assistance has definitely brought a paradigm shift in urologic surgery. The application to more and more a variety of procedure and the improvement of treatment outcomes are expected in the future.