Robotic thoracic surgery, the age of majority

From its first application in the thoracic field, almost 20 years ago, robotic surgery has been characterized by many changes and improvements. The sequence of technological innovations in surgery, with the diffusion of the robotic platform, has influenced the surgical practice. The evolution of the technology and consequent evolution of the technique has led to a world-wide dissemination of the application of robotic surgery for routine procedure and consequently extending its indications to complex and challenging cases. This paper describes the marking out steps of the development of robotic system, with its resulting improvements which have influenced and modified the technique, the indications and the results. The future perspective of robotic surgery is also described.