Telesurgery Prospects in Delivering Healthcare in Remote Areas

Feasibility and safety of performing remote surgery was first established by performing surgeries on pigs in later part of the 20th century. The first tele-robotic remote surgical system was set up in Canada in 2003 between two hospitals 400 kilometres away. The current review was planned to have a look at the current state of robotic surgery and its use in telesurgery. Literature search was conducted for articles related to "Robotic Surgery" and "Tele-Surgery". Our search included articles published in English literature, including case studies and review articles. We searched Google Scholar and PubMed to search relevant articles. Introduction of haptic feedback technology added significantly to safety robotic surgery. Tele-surgery, also called tele-robotics, combines the advantages of robotic surgery, including magnified view, augmented reality and improved ergonomics and dexterity, and provision of surgical care in remote areas and difficult-to-reach locations like spacecrafts and ships. Challenges, like cost, availability and legislations, remain to be addressed.