Table 1.
Benefits and Risks of Surgical Approach (Robot-Assisted, Conventional Laparoscopic, and Open Surgeries) under COVID-19 Times.
| Area of Risk | Robot-Assisted Surgery | Conventional Laparoscopy | Open Surgery |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aerosol escape | Intra-abdominal dispersion, limited by filters or locks (no data on actual COVID-19 risk) | Intra-abdominal dispersion, limited by filters or locks (no data on actual COVID-19 risk) | Less aerosol formation, unconfined dispersion, unfiltered. Only present, but then unfiltered, and with maximal exposure, when using electrical and especially ultrasonic devices (no data on actual COVID-19 in risk) |
| Smoke | Confined, filtered, and less than at open surgery | Confined, filtered, and less than at open surgery | Maximum exposure to smoke |
| Blood, body fluids | Hardly if any blood loss and exposure at limited intervals | Hardly if any blood loss and exposure at limited intervals | More blood loss and constant exposure |
| Abdominal pressure | Minimal pressure (less than at conventional laparoscopy). Less than 10 mmHg | 10-15 mmHg | No abdominal pressure (0 mmHg) |
| Perioperative cleaning of instruments | Large surface of robot to disinfect, but limited number of instruments to clean of limited blood contamination | Limited number of instruments to clean of limited blood contamination | Only instrument to clean but these in large number and severely contaminated with blood |
| Health care staff | Usually 1 staff at the bedside, 1 staff away from the patient (remote) | Usually 3 staff at the bedside | Usually 3 staff at the bedside |
| Hospital stay | Short | Short | Long |