呼吸器外科領域におけるロボット支援手術の現況と展望

Current Status and Future Prospect of Robot-assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery

手術支援ロボット［da Vinci Surgical System（DVSS）：Intuitive Surgical社，Sunnyvale］の最大の利点は，三次元視野下に関節を有する自由度の高い鉗子を用いて巧みな手術操作ができるところであり，従来の内視鏡手術の欠点を補う新たな低侵襲手術として呼吸器外科分野でも普及してきている1，2）．本邦では厚生労働省の薬事審議会が2009年11月にda Vinc

As surgical robots have widely spread, verification of their usefulness in the general thoracic surgery field is required. The most favorable advantage of robot-assisted surgery is the markedly free movement of joint-equipped robotic forceps under 3-dimensional high-vision. Accurate operation makes complex procedures straightforward and may overcome weak points of previous thoracoscopic surgery. Robot-assisted surgery for lung cancer and mediastinal disease have been safely introduced and initial results have shown favorable. It is still at the stage of clinical research, but recently a lot of merits of robot-assisted thoracic surgery are proved. Although safety management, education and significant cost are also important issues, the robotic-assisted thoracoscopic surgery will become one of the surgical options in minimally invasive surgery.