Urologic robotic surgery: Past, present and future

In recent years, surgical treatment has undergone a major transformation with the advent of robot-assisted surgery. In other words, there has been a shift from conventional open surgery to laparoscopic surgery and even from laparoscopic surgery to robot-assisted surgery. Laparoscopic surgery is minimally invasive and allows observation of structures with an expanded bright field, but requires a certain degree of skill in operating forceps during surgery. This robot-assisted surgery using da Vinci has been developed since the 1980s with the idea of remote control in battlefields and space, and in 1999 it was developed in the United States. Approved for clinical use by the FDA. In the same year, robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) was performed for the first time. In Japan, in December 2005, the Department of Urology, Tokyo Medical University began performing RARP using Da Vinci, the first robot-assisted surgery in Japan. Furthermore, in April 2012, after health insur¬ance service was applied, the number of surgical procedures rapidly increased. The number of facilities that have introduced assisting surgery robot has increased. Furthermore, following RARP, partial nephrectomy, radical cystectomy, pyeloplasty, and other urologic surgeries were introduced. Furthermore, as da Vinci's patents, which hold the top share of the global market, expired, dozens of competing companies, who were unable to develop robots due to da Vinci's patents, entered the market, and many types of surgical robots have appeared. Urology have always been leaders in advancing surgical technology, will continue to play a leading role in the field of robot-assisted surgery as a central medical department in the future. This special issue aims to highlight the history and current advances in robotic-assisted urologic surgery, present the challenges faced with a focus on the situation in Japan mainly, and highlight the potential for future development.