• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
Choose which site to search.
UAMS Health Logo UAMS Health
  • UAMS.edu
  • MyChart
  • Giving
  • Emergency Room
  • Types of Care
  • Locations
  • Doctors
  • Patients and Guests
  • Referring Physicians
  • Appointments
  • About Us
    • Awards and Recognition
  1. UAMS Health
  2. Clinical Resources
  3. What Is Robotic Surgery?

Clinical Resource: What Is Robotic Surgery?

Description

What exactly is robotic surgery — and is a robot really doing the operation? In this video, Dr. Jamie Cannon, a globally recognized colorectal surgeon at UAMS Health, breaks down the truth behind robotic-assisted surgery and what it means for patients. Dr. Cannon explains how she remains fully in control during the procedure, using advanced robotic tools that allow for greater precision, smaller incisions, and faster recovery times. With robotic surgery, complex procedures can be performed in tight spaces with better visualization and minimal disruption to surrounding tissue — meaning less pain and a quicker return to normal life. As a pioneer and international teacher of robotic surgical techniques, Dr. Cannon is passionate about expanding access to minimally invasive surgery and improving outcomes for patients across the world.

Video Player

What Is Robotic Surgery? Precision, Recovery & Innovation with Dr. Jamie Cannon | UAMS Health

Transcript

A lot of people don’t really understand what  exactly robotic surgery is. So as a robotic surgeon I am still the one that is doing the operation. Robots do not operate independently uh but what it means is that I’m controlling  the instruments that are actually inside the
patient but the robot allows those instruments to have more capability and essentially do a much more precise dissection than the human hand can without that robotic support and so that allows us to do complex operations that  are often in very small spaces where we couldn’t necessarily reach otherwise um very precise and with uh excellent visualization. That means that operations that used to require a really large incision can be done through small incisions. I’ve been doing robotic surgery for a long time and I I teach it worldwide and my goal is always to try and offer that approach to more and more  patients and to try and figure out how we can do
each operation in the most minimally invasive fashion possible. When a patient undergoes a minimally invasive or robotic operation that  shortens their recovery time significantly rather than a large incision they have multiple  small incisions that heal quickly that means less time in the hospital and getting back  to their life or their job quicker.

Related Content

  • Providers
  • Areas of Expertise
  • Make an Appointment

Related Providers

Jamie A. Cannon, M.D.

Jamie A. Cannon, M.D. Colorectal Surgeon

View Profile

Related Areas of Expertise

Image of male doctor giving intravenous drip chemotherapy treatment to a female cancer patient.

Cancer Care

The UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute is Arkansas’ most comprehensive cancer treatment and research facility.

View Area of Expertise
GI Cancer

Gastrointestinal Cancer Care (Part of Cancer Care)

Cancers of the digestive system can be very serious, impacting both survival and quality of life.

View Area of Expertise

Make an Appointment

Request an appointment by contacting a clinic directly or by calling the UAMS Health appointment line at (501) 686-8000.

UAMS Health LogoUAMS HealthUniversity of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Mailing Address: 4301 West Markham Street, Little Rock, AR 72205
Phone: (501) 686-7000
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Statement
  • Notice of Privacy Practices
  • Price Transparency

© 2025 University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences