A robot is "a computer controlled manipulator with an artificial sensor, that can be reprogrammed to move and position tools to carry out a wide range of tasks" 1 . A surgical robot (telemanipulator) is a computer assisted, pre-programmed dependent device, which is controlled by the surgeon (Figure 1).Robots are being used in urological, cardiac, orthopaedic, gynaecological, thoracic, neurosurgical, ear, nose and throat, and general surgery [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] . The gynaecological robotic operations which are being performed are myomectomy, total and supracervical hysterectomy, ovarian cystectomy, sacral colpopexy, tubal reanastomosis, lymph node dissection, surgery of retroperitoneal ectopic pregnancy, the Moskowitz procedure and endometriosis surgery 2-7,12-21 . Robot-assisted laparoscopic radical hysterectomy for cervical cancer has been introduced recently 3,15 . We are performing most of these operations in our institute. The Da Vinci system (Intuitive Surgery, Mountain View, California, USA) is presently the only commercially available robotic system, having received Food and Drug Administration approval for use in gynaecological surgery in 2005 2 .
ADVANTAGESThe advantages of robotic surgery over open surgery and laparoscopic surgery 6,7,12-21 include: 1) three-dimensional movement of the robotic hand, leading to increased dexterity; 2) improved articulation of the instruments; 3) easier access to inaccessible surgical sites; 4) better visualisation of