026IC - Complications of Robotic Urological Surgery: Prevention, Recognition, and Management

Saturday, April 29, 2023

7:30 AM – 9:30 AM CST

Location: S103B

Instructional Course Director(s)

RS

Rene Sotelo, MD (he/him/his)

Professor
University of Southern California

Instructional Course Faculty(s)

David Canes, MD (he/him/his)

Professor
Tufts University
Mihir Desai, MD, MPH

Professor
Michael Stifelman, MD

Professor
Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine

Course Description: Robotic surgery in urology is growing rapidly. Robotic surgery is often perceived to be “glamorous” and an “in thing.” Many surgeons start doing robotic surgeries just because their hospital bought a new robot without being fully aware of the harm that is possible without proper training, awareness and exposure.

It is estimated that over 500,000 robotic procedures have been performed to date, and growth in robotic procedures is expected to be about 10% per year. At the same time, there have been several reports and lawsuits pertaining to major complications from robotic surgery. It is imperative that urologists embarking upon a career involving robotic surgeries be aware of the potential complications, as well as how to prevent and manage them.

We all know that there is significant underreporting of complications, and most trainees coming into practice have little knowledge and experience with dealing with robotic complications. Existing practitioners embark upon robotic surgeries not being aware of what harm is possible with little knowledge, few skills and limited experience. This proposed course seeks to address this important gap between perception and reality.

Learning Objectives:

Identify complications relevant to robotic surgery in urology, including mechanical system failures, positioning and anesthetic complications, as well as complications specific to common robotic urological operations.
Prevent and manage robotic surgical complications by having a vivid video demonstration of a catastrophe providing awareness and prevention of such an occurrence in the course attendee’s practice. Many complications occur due to misidentification of the anatomy, surgeon disorientation and “biting off more than one can chew.” These scenarios will be highlighted extensively during the course
Identify robotic complications. Be aware of what harm is possible upon robotic surgeries with little knowledge, few skills and limited experience. The proposed course seeks to address this important gap between perception and reality.