Roberto Ballestero Diego, urologist: ‘In the next decade there will be surgical robots for every specialty and pathology’
The specialist has been performing robot-assisted operations since 2010, consolidating himself as one of the top experts in the field in Spain
With more than two decades of experience, Roberto Ballestero Diego, 47, head of the urology section at the Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital in Santander, Spain, has witnessed the remarkable evolution of his field, which has gone from open surgery to endoluminal surgery (performed through physiological conduits), conventional laparoscopy (which introduces the surgical tools through minimal incisions in the skin) and robot-assisted surgery. Since the arrival in Spain in 2005 of the first surgical robot Da Vinci, made by the American company Intuitive Surgical, its applications have extended to areas such as general and thoracic surgery (for example, to guide lung biopsies), ear, nose, and throat (ENT) operations, gynecology and orthopedic surgery, and to implant knee prostheses. More advanced models have also emerged and new European and Asian competitors are revolutionizing the sector.
