The age of robotic surgery - Is laparoscopy dead?

Introduction: Robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery (RALS) has become a widely used technology in urology. Urological procedures that are now being routinely performed robotically are: radical prostatectomy (RP), radical cystectomy (RC), renal procedures - mainly partial nephrectomy (PN), and pyeloplasty, as well as ureteric re-implantation and adrenalectomy.

Methods: This non-systematic review of the literature examines the effectiveness of RALS compared with conventional laparoscopic surgery for the most relevant urological procedures.