A prospective study on the enhancement of surgical safety in robotic surgery: The BirdView camera system

Purpose: To investigate the surgical safety and benefits of using the BirdView camera system with a wide field of view in robotic surgery for rectal cancer in a prospective clinical study.

Methods: This study included 20 consecutive patients who underwent robotic surgery at our institution between the years 2022 and 2023. The primary endpoint was perioperative safety, which was defined as the occurrence of adverse events, including other organ injuries and malfunctions, caused by the BirdView camera system.

Results: There were no injuries to any other organs caused by the console surgeon or assistant forceps during surgery. Surgical adverse events occurred in five cases (atelectasis, paralytic ileus, and anastomotic leakage) during the postoperative course. There were no cases of device failure or damage to the surrounding organs, including peritoneal heat damage.

Conclusions: We believe that the BirdView system could be valuable in improving the safety of robotic surgery by enabling the observation of blind spots, thus preventing harm to other organs.