In the most recent issue of SCOPE, SAGES President Dr. Jeffrey Marks shared his desire to highlight the hard work of the many SAGES committees. As the Society strives to fully realize the new SAGES University Masters Program, the initial focus will be on the affiliated pathway committees and task forces. This is the third in a series of Committee spotlights that will be published in the coming months.

Robotics Committee

Chair: Dmitry Oleynikov, MD
Co-Chairs: Ankit Patel, MD and Omar Yusef Kudsi, MD

Since its inaugural meeting in 2017, the SAGES Robotics Committee, comprised of over 60 surgeons, has been busy with many exciting projects as well as delivering research, education, and clinical guidance to the larger SAGES Community.

The goals of the Committee are to:

• Provide a balanced view on innovative robotic techniques
• Define training so that patient safety is always in the forefront
• Evaluate clinical trials, research, and procedure development to determine robotic outcomes
• Create a facilitated forum that will inform and educate surgeons on the value of robotics in the growing field of MIS

Our many accomplishments include:

• Creation of the Fellows Robotic Course, with more than 30 participating faculty members. Since 2017, the course has taught over 100 fellows from all over the US in the following locations:
  • Atlanta (Intuitive) – November 2017, February 2018, September 2018
  • Houston (Memorial Hermann) – May 2018, June 2018
  • San Diego (UCSD) – November 2018
• Published the SAGES Manual of Robotic Surgery, part of the Masters Program Series
• Published the SAGES Atlas of Robotic Surgery
• Successfully worked with industry to create annual robotic research grants for SAGES members
• Collaborated with APDS on a session on robotic curriculum development for residencies
• Published multiple manuscripts on issues of Robotic surgery including a review article on Robotic Surgical Systems on the Market, Ergonomics of Robotic Surgery, and Creation of Robotics Curriculum for Residents and Fellows
• Growth of the SAGES Robotic Surgery Masters Program Collaboration on Facebook

Check out these Robotics-related sessions at SAGES 2019!

Online Registration is Open

• Hot New Apps for the Clinician, Patient, and Educator
• Unfiltered to Virtual and the Mixed Reality in Between: Computer-Assisted Surgery in 2019
• Adopting Innovations in the OR: The Truth That Lies Beneath
• Balloons, Barriers, and Beyond – New Devices for the Treatment of Obesity
• i3 Summit
• What’s Changing in Robots and Other New Technology
• Educators Luncheon: Developing and Incorporating Robotic Training for Residents and Fellows
• Devil’s in the Details – Robotic Hernia Repair

Robotic surgery continues to gain acceptance and support in the general surgery community and with SAGES membership. With the introduction of multiple platforms in the next several years, the landscape of surgery will be changing and the members of this committee will help guide us into a new era.