The contemporary role of robotics in surgery: A predictive mathematical model on the short-term effectiveness of robotic and laparoscopic surgery

Aim: The goal of this research was to create a mathematical model to evaluate the short-term effectiveness of laparoscopic and robotic surgeries and to apply this model to surgeries with laparoscopic and robotic variants to evaluate their performance. Materials and methods: A mathematical model was developed in this study to compare the short-term effectiveness of six different surgical procedures: ventral hernia repairs, hysterectomies, lung lobectomies, pancreatectomies, gastric bypass, and prostatectomies. The criteria analyzed to compare these procedures included morbidity rate, readmission rate, mortality rate, cost, length of hospitalization and operative time. These criteria were scaled based on their significance when considering a surgery, such that more important criteria, those that directly impact patient health, are more heavily weighted than less important criteria. Results: The mathematical model indicated that robotic surgery was the preferred option for lung lobectomies and prostatectomies. Laparoscopy was preferred for all other procedures. In the case of gastric bypass, laparoscopy was heavily preferred, and there was only a marginal preference in laparoscopy for hysterectomies and ventral hernia repairs. Conclusion: The mathematical model developed in this research serves as a robust definitive standard that can continue to be utilized to compare robotic and laparoscopic surgeries. With new technologies, preferences are likely to change in favor of robotic surgery, and this model can be employed to predict the impact of those advancements. Keywords: Robotic surgery, Laparoscopic surgery, Mathematical model, Surgical outcomes, Surgical compariso