Seoul, Korea

Recently, demand for minimally invasive surgery has increased greatly. As a result, robot-assisted techniques have gained in popularity, because they overcome several of the shortcomings of conventional laparoscopic techniques. However, ro-botic surgery may require innovations with regard to patient positioning and the overall arrangement of operative equip-ment and personnel, which may go against the conservative nature of anesthesia care. Anesthesiologists should become familiar with these changes by learning the basic features of robotic surgical systems to offer better anesthetic care and promote patient safety. (Korean J Anesthesiol 2014; 66: 3-11