Table 2. Awareness, perception, knowledge, and attitude participants have toward robotic surgery.
| n=472 (%) | |
|---|---|
| Awareness | |
| Heard about robotic surgery | |
| Yes | 250 (53.0) |
| No | 222 (47.0) |
| Source of information# | |
| Media | 205 (82.0) |
| Magazine | 37 (14.8) |
| Doctor | 33 (13.2) |
| Friends and relatives | 30 (12.0) |
| Perception and/or knowledge | |
| Which type of surgery is robotic surgery most similar to?# | |
| Traditional open surgery | 23 (9.2) |
| Laparoscopic surgery | 161 (64.4) |
| Laser surgery | 66 (26.4) |
| Understanding of robotic surgery | |
| Robot performs surgery, trained surgeon stands by | 138 (29.2) |
| Surgeon controls robotic arms and instrument | 266 (56.4) |
| Surgeon tells robot what to do, robot follows each command | 40 (8.5) |
| Surgeon not present in the operating theatre; robot performs according to software | 28 (5.9) |
| Perceptions of robotic surgery compared to non-robotic surgery$ | |
| Faster | 221 (46.8) |
| Safer | 138 (29.2) |
| Better results | 137 (29.0) |
| Less painful | 66 (14.0) |
| Costly | 212 (44.9) |
| None of the above | 73 (15.5) |
| Concerns regarding robotic surgery | |
| Robot malfunctions causing internal damage | 373 (79.0) |
| Robot performs wrong procedure | 260 (55.1) |
| Do you think robotic malfunction has occurred before during surgery? | |
| Never | 15 (3.2) |
| Yes | 115 (24.4) |
| Unsure | 342 (72.5) |
| Attitude | |
| Would you prefer to undergo robotic surgery? | |
| Yes | 159 (33.7) |
| No | 313 (66.3) |
| Perceptions of surgeons trained in robotic surgery | |
| More skilled | 154 (32.6) |
| Similar | 257 (54.4) |
| Less skilled | 61 (12.9) |
| Perceptions of hospitals using robotic surgery | |
| Better | 201 (42.6) |
| Similar | 253 (53.6) |
| Worse | 18 (3.8) |
#
Expressed as a percentage of participants who have heard of robotic surgery (n=250). Percentages do not add to 100 due to multiple option selection