Overview and perspectives about the robotic surgical certification process in Brazil: the new statement and a national web-survey

ABSTRACT Objective: to appraise the general profile of the Brazilian robotic surgeon and the acknowledgment of the new certification process for robotic surgery upon the Associação Médica Brasileira (AMB - Brazilian Medical Association) statement. According to the AMB statement, medical societies and proctors have to achieve leading roles in training and certification of surgeons, acting in partnership with industry. Methods: a national web-based survey was promoted by the Colégio Brasileiro de Cirurgiões (CBC - Brazilian College of Surgeons) among their members. Results: the 294 answers were split into two groups: 133 (45.3%) who had robotic console certification, and 161 (54.8%) who did not have it. The overall median age was 46, but the non-robotic group presented more surgeons with at least 30 years of experience than to the robotic group (32.3% versus 23.3%, p=0.033). Surgeons with robotic certification more frequently work in a city with at least one million inhabitants than surgeons who were not certified (85.7 versus 63.4%, p