Da Vinci Surgery | Robotic Assisted Surgery for Patients

Get back to what matters most

When you need surgery, you want to get through it so that you can get back to your life. We want that for you, too. It’s why we founded Intuitive in 1995 by bringing together world-renowned experts in minimally invasive surgery, robotic technology, and human-to-machine interaction. In 1999, Intuitive launched the first da Vinci^® surgical system, which in 2000 became one of the first robotic-assisted surgical systems to gain FDA clearance.

Today, after more than 6 million surgeries globally,¹ we continue to innovate to improve the surgical systems, training, and support for surgeons, hospitals and care teams to help patients like you get back to what matters most.

This website is intended to provide you with information about robotic-assisted surgery with da Vinci. The FDA has cleared our systems for many procedures you may find described on this site. It’s important to remember that Intuitive does not provide medical advice. After discussing all options with your doctor, only you and your doctor can determine whether surgery with da Vinci is appropriate for your situation. You should always ask your surgeon about his or her training, experience, and patient outcomes.

OR staff with a da Vinci system under the lights

How it happens with da Vinci

The da Vinci surgical system helps enable your surgeon to perform minimally invasive surgery with an advanced set of instruments and a 3D high-definition view of the surgical area. Minimally invasive surgery with da Vinci is widely used in urology and gynecology procedures, and in several other procedures, too.

One reason surgeons use da Vinci is because it may provide improved outcomes. For example, one outcome is reducing the number of complications associated with hysterectomy for benign conditions. A review of published studies suggests patients who had this procedure with da Vinci may experience fewer complications compared to patients who had open^2-5 and laparoscopic^2,5,6 surgery.

More about da Vinci

Made by Intuitive

We put patients first, always. At Intuitive, our mission statement is: We believe that minimally invasive care is life-enhancing care. Through ingenuity and intelligent technology, we expand the potential of physicians to heal without constraints.

The da Vinci system in action

The da Vinci surgical systems have received FDA clearance for use in a number of surgery types.

For cardiac patients

Where appropriate, minimally invasive surgery with da Vinci can be used in place of open heart surgery.

Cardiac

For colorectal patients

Learn more about what da Vinci has to offer for patients with colon conditions or rectal conditions.

Colorectal

For general surgery patients

General surgery covers many types of procedures, including inguinal hernia repair that surgeons can perform with da Vinci.

General surgery

For gynecology patients

Doctors may suggest surgery, such as benign hysterectomy with da Vinci, if you and your doctor agree that non-surgical options are insufficient.

Gynecology

For head and neck patients

Transoral (through the mouth) robotic-assisted surgery may be an option for mouth and throat surgery.

Head and neck

For thoracic (chest) patients

When surgery is an option for conditions such as lung cancer, doctors may choose minimally invasive surgery with da Vinci.

Thoracic

For urology patients

Doctors may suggest surgery with da Vinci for urology procedures involving the prostate or kidney.

Urology

Based on Intuitive internal data.
Ho C, Tsakonas E, Tran K, Cimon K, Severn M, Mierzwinski-Urban M, Corcos J, Pautler S. “Robot-Assisted Surgery Compared with Open Surgery and Laparoscopic Surgery: Clinical Effectiveness and Economic Analyses.” Ottawa (ON): Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health; 2011 Sep.
Landeen, Laurie B., MD, MBA, Maria C. Bell, MD, MPH, Helen B. Hubert, MPH, PhD, Larissa Y. Bennis, MD, Siri S. Knutsten-Larsen, MD, and Usha Seshari-Kreaden, MSc. "Clinical and Cost Comparisons for Hysterectomy via Abdominal, Standard Laparoscopic, Vaginal and Robot-assisted Approaches." South Dakota Medicine 64.6 (2011): 197-209. Print.
Geppert B, Lönnerfors C, Persson J. “Robot-assisted laparoscopic hysterectomy in obese and morbidly obese women: surgical technique and comparison with open surgery.” Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 90.11 (2011): 1210-1217. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0412.2011.01253.x. Epub.
Lim, Peter C., John T. Crane, Eric J. English, Richard W. Farnam, Devin M. Garza, Marc L. Winter, and Jerry L. Rozeboom. “Multicenter analysis comparing robotic, open, laparoscopic, and vaginal hysterectomies performed by high-volume surgeons for benign indications.” International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics 133.3 (2016): 359–364. Print.
Scandola, Michele, Lorenzo Grespan, Marco Vicentini, and Paolo Fiorini. "Robot-Assisted Laparoscopic Hysterectomy vs Traditional Laparoscopic Hysterectomy: Five Metaanalyses." Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology 18.6 (2011): 705-15. Print.

Disclosures and Important Safety Information

Surgical Risks

Risks associated with hysterectomy, benign (removal of the uterus and possibly nearby organs) include injury to the ureters (the ureters drain urine from the kidney into the bladder), vaginal cuff problems (scar tissue in vaginal incision, infection, bacterial skin infection, pooling/clotting of blood, incision opens or separates), injury to bladder (organ that holds urine), bowel injury, vaginal shortening, problems urinating (cannot empty bladder, urgent or frequent need to urinate, leaking urine, slow or weak stream), vaginal fistula (abnormal hole from the vagina into the urinary tract or rectum), vaginal tear or deep cut. Uterine tissue may contain unsuspected cancer. The cutting or morcellation of uterine tissue during surgery may spread cancer, and decrease the long-term survival of patients.

Important Safety Information

Patients should talk to their doctor to decide if da Vinci^® surgery is right for them. Patients and doctors should review all available information on non-surgical and surgical options and associated risks in order to make an informed decision.

Serious complications may occur in any surgery, including da Vinci surgery, up to and including death. Serious risks include, but are not limited to, injury to tissues and organs and conversion to other surgical techniques which could result in a longer operative time and/or increased complications. For Important Safety Information, including surgical risks, indications, and considerations and contraindications for use, please also refer to www.intuitive.com/safety.

Individuals' outcomes may depend on a number of factors, including but not limited to patient characteristics, disease characteristics and/or surgeon experience.

Da Vinci Xi^® System Precaution Statement

The demonstration of safety and effectiveness for the specific procedure(s) discussed in this material was based on evaluation of the device as a surgical tool and did not include evaluation of outcomes related to the treatment of cancer (overall survival, disease-free survival, local recurrence) or treatment of the patient’s underlying disease/condition. Device usage in all surgical procedures should be guided by the clinical judgment of an adequately trained surgeon.

Medical Advice and Locating a Doctor

Patients should talk to their doctor to decide if da Vinci surgery is right for them. Other options may be available and appropriate. Only a doctor can determine whether da Vinci surgery is appropriate for a patient’s situation. Patients and doctors should review all available information on both non-surgical and surgical options in order to make an informed decision.

Surgeons experienced with the da Vinci system can be found using the Surgeon Locator. Intuitive Surgical provides surgeons training on the use of the da Vinci system but does not certify, credential or qualify the surgeons listed in the Surgeon Locator.

Published Evidence

In order to provide benefit and risk information, Intuitive Surgical reviews the highest available level of evidence on procedures named above. Intuitive Surgical strives to provide a complete, fair and balanced view of the clinical literature. However, our materials should not be seen as a substitute for a comprehensive literature review for inclusion of all potential outcomes. We encourage patients and physicians to review the original publications and all available literature in order to make an informed decision. Clinical studies are typically available at pubmed.gov.

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