Robotic assistant systems for surgical procedures of the anterior skull base

Abstract

Robot-assisted surgery (RAS) has been widely accepted in the clinical routine around the world with a focus on urology, gynecology and general surgery. Even transoral robotic surgery (TORS) is applied on a regular basis in some specialized medical centers. However, the anatomical constraints and the delicate procedures at the anterior skull base prevent the introduction of RAS until today. We have performed an extended literature research on robot-assisted skull base surgery and added our own pre-clinical experiences to the list of publications. The overview includes available systems, pre-clinical and clinical applications, specific limitations, remaining challenges and an outlook into future developments.

Keywords

• robot-assisted surgery
• anterior skull base
• tors
• assistant