da Vinci SP

Where the multi-arm da Vinci systems dock several separate arms around the patient, da Vinci SP delivers everything through a single port: three wristed instruments and an articulating 3DHD endoscope, all carried on one arm. Because the elbows of the instruments unfold inside the body rather than outside it, surgeons can reach anatomy in all four quadrants of the abdomen without redocking, and can work through natural orifices or extraperitoneal routes that a multi-port system cannot easily use. Its regulatory footprint is deliberately narrow: the FDA cleared the current SP1098 system for single-port urological procedures in May 2018 and for transoral procedures in the oropharynx in March 2019, and Intuitive states plainly that safety and effectiveness in general laparoscopic surgery have not been established. That makes SP a specialist rather than a replacement for da Vinci 5 — urology, head and neck, thoracic and colorectal teams use it where narrow access and cosmetic outcome matter most. The platform is still moving: FDA records show sixteen further clearances for the SP1098 system through January 2026, and Intuitive counts more than 400 peer-reviewed publications on the technology.

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