OasisLMS

Robotic surgery has become well and routinely established in other surgical fields, such as general surgery, urology, gynecology and more. However, robotic technologies have not been as well-adopted in plastic surgery despite the field’s reputation for innovation. There are many documented benefits of using surgical robotic systems in plastic surgery when compared to the traditional open approach. This course introduces the current systems available and current applications to plastic surgery in the literature. It outlines the benefits of robotic surgery as well as the obstacles to widespread adoption in clinical plastic surgery practice along with some possible solutions. New areas of development and innovations in AI and robotic surgery are outlined to help the physician understand future directions in surgical technology and surgical innovation.

Intended Audience
This educational activity is intended for all CME-related persons including plastic surgery practitioners, residents, and other healthcare professionals.

Learning Objectives

After viewing this course, the participant should be able to:

1. Understand and list the advantages of robotic surgery over traditional open and laparoscopic approaches to surgery
2. Understand and list the advantages of robotic surgery over traditional open and laparoscopic approaches to surgery
3. Understand the current obstacles and limitations to implementing robotics into clinical practice in plastic surgery and possible solutions
4. Understand the principles of AI within robotics and current research involving semiautonomous robots with AI assistance
5. Describe the future direction of technological advancement in robotics and AI in surgery and the ethical and legal implications and challenges of this development 

Editor-in-Chief: Kevin Chung, MD

Co-Editor: Amy Colwell, MD

Alex K. Wong, MD (lead faculty)

Yida Cai, MD

Edward S. Lee, MD

Jesse C. Selber, MD

• Patient Care and Procedural Skills
• Medical Knowledge
• Practice-based Learning and Improvement

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Designation
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

AMA PRA Category 1 Credit^TM: 1.0
Media:Journal Article
Release Date: 8/29/2025
Expiration Date: 8/29/2028*
Estimated time to complete this course: 1 hour
*Course access ends on course expiration date

Disclosure Policy
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) requires all faculty, authors, planners, reviewers, managers, staff and other individuals in a position to control or influence the content of an activity to disclose all relevant financial relationships or affiliations. All identified conflicts of interest must be resolved and the educational content thoroughly vetted by ASPS for fair balance, scientific objectivity and appropriateness of patient care recommendations. The ASPS also requires faculty/authors to disclose when off-label/unapproved uses of a product are discussed in a CME activity or included in related materials.

Disclaimer: All relevant financial relationships for planners, faculty, and others in control of content (either individually or as a group) are reviewed by the ASPS Continuing Education Committee and have been mitigated, if applicable. 

The following planners/faculty members/reviewers have no relevant financial relationships or affiliations to disclose:

None of the authors has a financial interest in any of the products, devices, or drugs mentioned in this article. The funding of this study was solely institutional.

Faculty:
Henn, Dominic MD; Trotsyuk, Artem A. PhD; Barrera, Janos A. MD; Sivaraj, Dharshan BS; Chen, Kellen PhD; Mittal, Smiti BS; Mermin-Bunnell, Alana M. BS; Chattopadhyay, Arhana MD; Larson, Madelyn R. BS; Kinney, Brian M. MD; Nachbar, James MD; TerKonda, Sarvam P. MD; Reddy, Sashank MD; Jeffers, Lynn MD, MBA; Sacks, Justin M. MD, MBA; Gurtner, Geoffrey C. MD

Plastic and Reconstruction Surgery® Editors:  Editor-in-Chief: Kevin C. Chung, MD

Co-Editor: Amy S. Colwell, MD

CME Faculty:
Alex K. Wong, MD, Yida Cai, MD, Edward S. Lee, MD, Jesse C. Selber, MD

Recognition Statement

The Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits offered by this activity are enhanced by ASPS Learner Credit Reporting for learners who have opted into this reporting. Successful completion of this CME activity enables active American Board of Surgery (ABS) members the opportunity to earn credit toward the CME requirement of the ABS's Continuous Certification program when claimed within 30 days of completion of the activity.

Participants in ASPS-accredited education who want their CME credits reported to certifying and state licensing boards must opt-in to reporting and add their NPI as well as state license ID and/or collaborating board ID(s) before claiming credit.

Directly provided by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons® (ASPS®)