What is genuinely different about DEXTER® from Distalmotion is not its size, neither its robotic instruments; not even the ability to combine robotic and laparoscopic surgery. The real novelty is the sterile surgeon console.
The surgeon remains scrubbed, at the operating table, and can move almost seamlessly between conventional laparoscopy and robotic surgery. It takes the concept of proximity and coexistence between laparoscopy and robotics to its logical extreme.
Dexter (Distalmotion) takes the concept of proximity and coexistence between laparoscopy and robotics to its extreme
Does this really add value?
Dexter is currently targeting procedures such as inguinal hernia repair and cholecystectomy, procedures that are among the fundamental skills of a general surgeon and are routinely performed by surgical residents.
So the interesting question is not whether Dexter can be used to perform that procedures. It clearly can be. The question is what additional clinical value does robotics provide for these procedures, and how does that translate into efficiency? If a surgeon can already perform the essential laparoscopic manoeuvres safely and efficiently, switching to robotics for part of the procedure may add complexity rather than remove it. Perhaps the answer lies elsewhere: ergonomics, standardization, difficult cases, training, or reducing the variability between surgeons. That remains to be demonstrated.
For me, the sterile console is a genuinely innovative concept. Whether it represents a meaningful evolution of robotic surgery, is a question worth watching. It might even be a step back, as moving apart from the surgical table was one of the clues at the very beggining of soft tissue surgical robotics.
Technology can change the way we perform surgery. The question is whether it makes it better.
J Granell. Aug 8, 2026.