Muscle activation during traditional laparoscopic surgery compared with robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery: a...

Area of Science:

• Surgical Technology
• Ergonomics
• Musculoskeletal Health

Background:

• The surgical environment poses risks for musculoskeletal disorders due to repetitive motions.
• Traditional Laparoscopic Surgery (TLS) presents physical and mental challenges.
• Robotic-Assisted Laparoscopic Surgery (RALS) aims to improve upon TLS, but some surgeons still report symptoms.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and compare muscle activation during TLS and RALS.
• To conduct a meta-analysis of muscle activation data for both surgical modalities.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive literature search was performed in November 2018.
• Inclusion criteria included original data, EMG measurements, and data for both TLS and RALS.
• Standardized mean difference analysis was used for comparing results.

Main Results:

• Ten studies were included from an initial search of 379 papers.
• Sample sizes ranged from 1 to 31 surgeons.
• Lower muscle activation in the biceps was consistently observed for RALS across all studies.

Conclusions:

• RALS may offer ergonomic advantages over TLS, indicated by generally lower muscle activation.
• Results should be interpreted cautiously due to study heterogeneity and potential biases.
• Future research requires more homogenous, high-quality studies with larger sample sizes.