Dow Division of Health Services Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48105-2967, USA.
Expert Rev Pharmacoecon Outcomes Res. 2010 Aug;10(4):421-32. doi: 10.1586/erp.10.46.
In less than a decade, the widespread application of robotic technology to the field of urologic oncology has permanently altered the way urologists approach malignancy. The short-term benefits of minimally invasive surgery using robotic assistance (i.e., decreased blood loss, improved convalescence and ergonomic appeal), as well as a broad marketing campaign, have helped the technology gain traction in the field of urology. Although the long-term benefits of its use in urologic surgery are less clear and the costs of robotic surgery are consistently greater than those of other approaches, the numbers of prostate, kidney and bladder cancer cases continue to rise. Identifying transferable surgical processes of care that matter most for each of the robotic cases in urologic oncology (e.g., prostatectomy, cystectomy and partial nephrectomy) is a next step toward broadly improving the quality of urologic cancer care. To this end, urologic professional societies and their surgeons should aim to identify underwriters for and participate in large clinical registries and surgical quality collaboratives.
在不到十年的时间里，机器人技术在泌尿外科肿瘤学领域的广泛应用彻底改变了泌尿科医生处理恶性肿瘤的方式。机器人辅助微创手术的短期优势（即减少失血、改善康复和符合人体工程学的吸引力），以及广泛的营销活动，帮助该技术在泌尿外科领域获得了关注。尽管其在泌尿外科手术中的长期益处尚不清楚，而且机器人手术的成本始终高于其他方法，但前列腺癌、肾癌和膀胱癌的病例数量仍在继续上升。确定泌尿外科肿瘤学中每个机器人病例最重要的可转移手术护理流程（例如前列腺切除术、膀胱切除术和部分肾切除术）是朝着广泛提高泌尿外科癌症护理质量迈出的下一步。为此，泌尿外科专业协会及其外科医生应努力为大型临床登记处和外科质量合作组织确定承保人并参与其中。
