The state of robotic surgery in Spain: Results of a national survey on robotic surgery
Gonzalo Azcárraga Aranegui, Jose Antonio Campos Sañudo, Joan Benejam Cual, Roberto Ballestero DiegoBackground and aims
To assess the present state of robotic surgery and the surgical approaches employed by urology departments utilizing robotic systems in Spain.
Methods and results
An email invitation was sent to heads of urology departments in public and private hospitals with surgical robots. A 78-question online questionnaire was distributed, and data were collected over 3 months. Of 82 invitations, 57.31% responded, mostly male (95.7%) urologists over 50 years old, with 77.8% having more than 20 years of practice. About 45.7% worked in both public and private settings. Most units use robots 1–3 days per week, with 56.1% of these units having 1–3 surgeons trained. 92.3% of respondents had laparoscopic experience, and 71.1% received robotic surgery training from the robot company. Radical prostatectomy, pyeloplasty, and cystectomy are mainly performed robotically, while other surgeries vary in approach.
Conclusion
Robotic surgery has been firmly established in Spain, although the percentage of surgeries in robotic units remains low. Radical prostatectomy, pyeloplasty, and radical cystectomy with diversion are the most commonly performed techniques using robotic approaches.