The application and limitation of artificial intelligence in surgery: a narrative review

Introduction: Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to grow at a rapid pace and Its applications in surgery are increasingly appreciated. AI technologies are increasingly being integrated into surgical practices in various specialties and improve patient accuracy, efficiency, and outcomes. However, limitations remain in the further development of workable, reliable, and clinically verifiable algorithms. This study investigated the applications and limitations of AI in surgery. Search Strategy: In narrative review the applications and limitations of AI in surgery was performed from SCOPUS, PubMed, SID databases and Google scholar search engine with the keywords “AI”, “surgery”, “applications” and “limitations”. ۲۵۰۰ articles were found in the initial search. After removing duplicates, reviewing the titles and abstracts, ۱۱ articles that were accepted in the years ۲۰۲۰ to ۲۰۲۴ were studied and reviewed. The exclusion criteria were not having the inclusion criteria and not having access to the full version of the article. Results: AI has been gradually implemented in supporting physicians and more recently surgeons in improving clinical decision-making, diagnosis and surgical procedures, predicting and limiting human errors in highly stressful critical situations through preoperative risk classification, intraoperative monitoring of surgical procedures, and postoperative care steps. Applications of AI in surgery include increasing surgical safety, automatic preoperative imaging, intraoperative anatomy adjustment, bleeding prediction, procedure duration prediction, motion detection, intraoperative cancer diagnosis, intraoperative video analysis, endoscopic guidance system, and knotting. However, the application and implementation of AI in surgery still has several challenges to overcome. One of the main limiting factors for the use of artificial intelligence in surgery is the financial burden of using such technology, and the other is the lack of sufficient and specific ethical and legal guidelines in this field. Conclusion and Discussion: The use of AI in surgical settings can improve clinical performance and operating room management by promoting consistent and high-quality decision-making while maintaining the importance of clinical evaluation and human intuition, as well as respect for human rights and equitable surgical care. Therefore, future research should focus on clinical validation of AI applications, legal and ethical considerations, and evaluation of the implementation pathway. Although AI should never replace the surgeon's judgment, it should be considered a valuable tool for complementing surgical decision-making and enhancing patient care.

کلیدواژه ها:

AI ، applications ، limitations ، surgery