A state-of-the-art da Vinci system is installed in an operating room at the UCSD Medical Center in La Jolla. At the da Vinci console, the surgeon is literally hand in glove with the robotic controls, which manipulate surgical instruments at the operating table. 
The surgeon’s hands control every movement of the robotic arms. Much like the surgeon’s hands and wrists, the robotic arms can rotate and move in any direction, extending the range of the surgeon’s expert touch while still using laparoscopic techniques.
This allows the surgeon to maneuver precise instruments exactly as needed, even within a small space within the body. Unlike standard laparoscopic surgery, in which surgeons operate through small incisions and are limited in how much they can angle or turn their instruments, the da Vinci system allows an experienced surgeon have more degrees of freedom of motion to perform an operation.
The da Vinci surgical robot evolved from laparoscopic surgery but expands on the technology by providing physicians with vivid 3-D vision, 10x magnification, wristlike capabilities and six degrees of freedom in the abdomen.
Using daVinci, traditional open surgery can be accomplished endoscopically, with smaller incisions. The daVinci Surgical System has been used in tens of thousands of minimally-invasive procedures worldwide. UCSD is currently performing the following robotically-assisted procedures:
Meet the expert team of UCSD surgeons who work with the Davinci robot
Read a sample consultation between a UCSD surgeon and a patient considernig robotic surgery
Watch a 52-minute presentation on the Advantage of Robotic Surgery
Mark Talamini MD, discusses the advantages of these new technologies and how they are best applied.