Abstract
Robot-assisted surgery has numerous patient benefits compared to open surgery including smaller incisions, lower risk of infection, less post-operative pain, shorter hospital stays and a quicker return to the workforce. As such, it has become the first-choice surgical modality for several surgical procedures with the most common being prostatectomy and hysterectomy. However, research has identified that the perceptions of robot-assisted surgery among surgical patients and medical staff often do not accurately reflect the real-world situation. This study aimed to understand male and female perceptions of robot-assisted surgery with the objective of identifying the factors that might inhibit or facilitate the acceptance of robotic surgery. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 25 men/women from diverse social/ethnic backgrounds. The interviews were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. The majority of female participants expressed concerns in relation to the safety and perception of new technology in surgery, whereas many male participants appeared to be unfazed by the notion of robotic surgery. There were clear differences in how males and females understood and conceptualised the robot-assisted surgical process. Whilst male participants tended to humanise the process, female participants saw it as de-humanising. There is still a discrepancy between the public perceptions of robotic surgery and the clinical reality perceived by healthcare professionals. The findings will educate medical staff and support the development of current informative techniques given to patients prior to surgery.
Highlights
Advances in technology have been increasingly adopted in surgery
25 face-to-face semi-structured interviews were undertaken with males and females (Table 1)
The majority of female participants expressed concerns in relation with the safety and perception of new technology in surgery, whereas many male participants appeared to be unfazed by the notion of robotic surgery
Summary
The introduction of laparoscopic surgery marked the birth of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) and placed a technology interface between surgeons and their patients [22]. MIS has numerous patient benefits as compared to open surgery, including smaller incisions, lower risk of infection and less post-operative pain, shorter hospital stays, a quicker return to the workforce and has become the first-choice modality for numerous procedures across many surgical specialties [4, 11, 16]. Robot-assisted surgery (RS) involves a surgeon at a console operating remote-controlled robotic arms which facilitates the performance of laparoscopic procedures [5]. RS was first undertaken in general surgery in 2001 [26] and presents an alternative minimally invasive modality [25]. Studies have identified that RS has the potential to shorten the learning curve as compared to straight-stick laparoscopy for trainee surgeons [8]
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