Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) allows physicians to perform many kinds of major surgery with less patient trauma and pain, minimal scarring, faster recovery and shorter hospital stays. Surgeries are performed through small incisions, which replace the large incisions needed for conventional open surgeries.

The use of robotics takes minimally invasive techniques into a new era, further minimizing the physical and emotional impact of surgery on patients. Robotically-assisted MIS represents a third generation of surgery, one which builds upon the advances to open surgery introduced by MIS. Robotic technology takes surgery beyond the limits of the human hand, introducing precise, versatile instrument movement combined with three-dimensional visualization of the operative site.