Anesthetic care of the patient for robotic surgery.

Technological advances in medicine and surgery have undoubtedly changed today’s practice. One of the most important recent developments to surgical practice has been the adoption of computer assisted robots. Although robots have been around for the past 75 years, it is only recently that their use in surgery has dramatically increased1. With the growing market pressures for minimally invasive procedures, the role of robotic assisted surgery and its advantages of improved surgical precision over standard open and laparoscopic procedures will likely grow. To date since 1998, there have been approximately 80,000 robotic assisted surgical procedures. Currently about 400 medical centers in the United States have surgical robotic systems. As the number of surgeons adopt and learn to master this new tool, which is still in the learning phase, anesthesiologists should have a basic knowledge of these systems in order to formulate an anesthetic plan, recognize potential complications and provide safe patient care.