The role of the surgeon in the era of robotics and artificial intelligence


Gabriel Atan Sanchez

Abstract

Since the turn of the 21st Century, an eminent revolution in minimal access surgery challenged the existing laparoscopic method. Beginning with the approval of the Intuitive Surgical’s “da Vinci Surgical System” by the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the concept of robotic surgery has triggered widespread debate – about how it can be used to best assist patients, and what it might mean for surgeons. It has become a modern icon, representing an aspiration for excellence and a source of competition between the most distinguished medical institutions. As we venture into the unknown, the surgeon will encounter three pivotal roles both as an ethical agent and medical professional. The ethical role between the doctor-patient relationship with respects to informed consent, the ethical role concerning potential conflicts of interest among numerous stakeholders and the role of establishing a robust and effective surgical robotics training program for surgeons of the future.