Pedi-Bots: Innovations and progress in robotic pediatric general surgery

Abstract

Robotic Assisted Surgical Systems for abdominal surgery began human trials in adults in the 1990s [1,2]. The first commercially available system was approved for use in Europe and the United States by 2000 [2,3]. Almost 25 years later, robotic surgery is commonplace in most areas of general surgery in adults and is utilized nationally and internationally throughout most other surgical specialties. The first robotic pediatric surgery, a Nissan fundoplication, was completed in 2000 [4]. In relatively similar time periods where robotic surgery has become widespread in the adult population, its use has remained limited in pediatric patients. This is most often attributed to limitations secondary to the patient's size relative to the size of the robot and instruments[5,6]. In this article, we aim to review the robotic technology currently available in pediatrics, the advantages of robotic surgery, the use and safety of robotics in pediatric general surgery, and the challenges or limitations of its use, highlighting how surgeons and centers are utilizing this technology and implementing robotic practices despite these obstacles.