The da Vinci(®) Surgical System overcomes innate hand dominance

The robotic surgical platform has allowed for improved ergonomics, tremor filtration, and more precise surgical movements during minimally invasive surgery. We examined the impact of the da Vinci(®) Surgical System on the lateralization of manual dexterity, or handedness, innate to most surgeons.

Manual dexterity assessments were conducted among 19 robotic novices using two different skills tests: The Purdue Pegboard Test and a needle targeting test. After an initial robotic basic skills training seminar, subjects underwent testing using both open and robotic approaches. Test performance using both approaches was then compared among all subjects.

The majority of subjects (84%) were right handed, and all subjects described their dominant hand as significantly or moderately more dexterous than their nondominant hand. The participants had significant differences between the dominant and nondominant hand in open skills tasks using the Purdue Pegboard test (15.4 vs 14.6 pegs, P=0.023) and needle targeting test (4.5 vs 3.7 targets, P=0.015). When the same tasks were performed using the robot, the differences in handedness were no longer observed (P=0.203, P=0.764).

The da Vinci robot is capable of eliminating innate dexterity or handedness among novice surgical trainees. This provides evidence of another beneficial aspect of robot-assisted surgery over traditional laparoscopic surgery and may facilitate operative performance of complex tasks.