Robotic surgery and telesurgery in urology.

fi c apid technological developments and global communication in the past two decades have evolutionized the surgical sciences. Advances in ptics and instrumentation encouraged a leap from raditional open operating techniques to the minially invasive surgeries of today. Urology has been t the forefront of these innovations, introducing ndourologic techniques into everyday practice to reat a myriad of genitourinary ailments. Patients ave embraced these novel approaches as they ave addressed concerns of postoperative pain, osmesis, and convalescence. However, inherent limitations with some advanced inimally invasive techniques have restricted uniersal mastery by urologists. For example, laparocopic urologic surgery has been relatively slow to be ncorporated into general practice. Two-dimensional isualization, restricted maneuverability, and dampned tactile feedback, present challenges to surgeons rained in traditional open approaches. Although eneral surgery has the cholecystectomy and gyneology has the tubal ligation, urology lacks a simple aparoscopic platform for acquiring the requisite kill. The learning curve for urologic laparoscopy is ong, necessitating significant training and continued xposure. The advent of computer-assisted robotic systems as provided a potential solution to address these imitations. They also open the door for developing ovel, until now impossible, procedures. Morever, the rapid expansion of Internet resources and odern audiovisual media has allowed for realime guidance and remote surgical assistance. This eview addresses the background, advances, and ontinuing challenges associated with robotic surical systems and telesurgery.