I had the pleasure of taking part in ERUS26 once again, the 23rd Meeting of the EAU Robotic Urology Section (ERUS), held in Padua, Italy, from 9 to 11 September. The meeting brings together specialists from around the world to explore and share the latest advances in robotic surgery in urology.
Returning to ERUS is always a great opportunity to learn, exchange experiences and discuss with colleagues a field that is evolving at an extraordinary pace.
My participation in ERUS26
At this year’s meeting, I had the opportunity to moderate two surgical sessions and present a semi-live demonstration of a single-port simple prostatectomy technique.
These sessions are particularly valuable as they allow us to analyse surgery from a very practical perspective, explore different approaches to a procedure and discuss aspects that can help us continue to improve our surgical practice.
Live surgery was, in fact, one of the key pillars of ERUS26, with particular emphasis on both oncological and non-oncological urological procedures, as well as the integration of different robotic platforms and technologies.
The future of robotic surgery
One of my main conclusions from this year’s meeting is that we are entering a new era of robotic surgery. Today, we have platforms from different parts of the world, each offering different technologies, concepts and approaches. Rather than asking which robot is the best, we need to understand what each platform can offer and how we can make the most of its strengths to improve surgery.
Alongside this, single-port robotic surgery is enabling increasingly complex procedures to be performed through a single access point. Telesurgery is also advancing, offering enormous potential for training, collaboration and remote access to highly specialised professionals, while artificial intelligence is playing an increasingly important role in the analysis of surgical data, images and video.
We are not simply witnessing the evolution of robotic surgery, but the convergence of robotics, single-port surgery, connectivity, data and artificial intelligence. The real challenge will be to understand where each of these technologies can genuinely add value and translate these advances into better outcomes for our patients.
I would like to finish by congratulating Alberto Breda, Fabrizio Dal Moro and the entire organising team on an outstanding scientific programme, the excellent organisation and the warm welcome we received in Padua.
