Robotic Surgery
Robotic assisted minimally invasive surgical procedures have become increasingly common since FDA approval in 2000. First integrated into urologic care, robots now assist general, gynecologic, cardiothoracic, colorectal, and head and neck operations. Indications for and applications of robotic surgical technology continue to evolve, as do ethical questions generated by robotics about informed consent, surgical training and decision making, bias and risk management, and conflict of interest mitigation at the intersection of surgical technique selection and organizational investments. This theme issue looks to motivate conversations about clinical, ethical, and equity standards in a rapidly evolving robotic surgical frontier.