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Oliver et al. Plast Aesthet Res. 2025;12:19 Plastic and
DOI: 10.20517/2347-9264.2025.11
Aesthetic Research

Review Open Access

Exploring the role of robotics in genital gender-
affirming surgery: a review of techniques,

innovations and outcomes

1
1
1
1
1
Rachel Oliver , Abi Kanthabalan , Juan Diego Tinajero , Richard Flint , Jeffrey Ahmed , Giuseppe Di
1,2
1
Taranto , Victoria Rose , Tina Rashid 1,2
1
Chelsea Centre for Gender Surgery, Chelsea and Westminster NHS Trust, London SW10 9NH, UK.
2
Department of Genital Reconstructive Surgery, Nuffield Health Parkside Hospital, London SW19 5NX, UK.
Correspondence to: Dr. Rachel Oliver, Chelsea Centre for Gender Surgery, Chelsea and Westminster NHS Trust, 369 Fulham
Rd., London SW10 9NH, UK. E-mail: Rachel.oliver10@nhs.net
How to cite this article: Oliver R, Kanthabalan A, Tinajero JD, Flint R, Ahmed J, Di Taranto G, Rose V, Rashid T. Exploring the
role of robotics in genital gender-affirming surgery: a review of techniques, innovations and outcomes. Plast Aesthet Res.
2025;12:19. https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2347-9264.2025.11
Received: 24 Jan 2025 First Decision: 8 Apr 2025 Revised: 30 Apr 2025 Accepted: 12 May 2025 Published: 30 May 2025

Academic Editor: Gennaro Selvaggi Copy Editor: Ting-Ting Hu Production Editor: Ting-Ting Hu

Abstract
Robotic surgery has expanded significantly across all surgical specialties due to the benefits of high-definition 3D
visualization and 360-degree articulation of instruments. In the field of gender affirmation surgery (GAS), robotic
surgery has numerous applications in both primary and revision surgery. We sought to review the current literature
to discuss emerging robotic techniques for genital GAS in both the transmasculine and transfeminine population to
determine feasibility, complication rates, and outcomes.

Keywords: Robotic surgery, gender affirmation surgery, transgender

INTRODUCTION
Since its first applications in the fields of orthopedics and neurosurgery in the 1980s, the use of robotic
surgical systems has gained popularity worldwide . Robotic technology has evolved from basic single-arm
[1]
systems to more sophisticated platforms featuring multiple jointed arms capable of 360-degree movement,
all operated remotely via a surgical console from a single patient cart. Advanced surgical robots have

© The Author(s) 2025. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
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