Rolling admission · Istanbul · Delivered in English
For doctors who want to understand when a gynaecology department chooses the robot and how the theatre team works around it, followed from the theatre floor at a university teaching and research hospital in Istanbul where robotic cases are scheduled.
What you see depends on the department's clinical calendar during your placement; the list below describes the department's usual scope, not a guaranteed programme.
The robot is a way of delivering minimally invasive surgery, not a separate operation. The decision usually lies between conventional laparoscopy, robotic surgery and open surgery, and it turns on the patient and the pathology: body habitus, previous abdominal surgery and adhesions, uterine size, the need for fine dissection or suturing deep in the pelvis, and whether the patient can tolerate prolonged steep head-down tilt and pneumoperitoneum. Availability of the system and of theatre time also shapes which cases are listed robotically. Observers can follow how these factors are weighed in clinic and at list planning, and why a similar patient may be booked for a different approach.
Much of what distinguishes a robotic list happens before any incision and away from the console. The patient is secured against slipping in steep head-down tilt, ports are sited to avoid instrument collisions, and the system is docked in a planned orientation, after which changes to the patient's position are limited. The anaesthetist has restricted access to the patient once the system is in place, so ventilation, airway and pressure-area plans are agreed in advance. Teams also agree how the system would be undocked quickly if conversion became necessary. This preparation is where an observer on the theatre floor can follow the work most closely.
During the case the console surgeon sits away from the sterile field, so the operation depends on explicit communication with the patient-side surgeon and the theatre nurse for instrument exchanges, suction, uterine manipulation and specimen retrieval. Observers watch from the theatre floor and the shared monitors, which display the console surgeon's view. Afterwards, the ward round allows recovery after robotic, laparoscopic and open procedures to be compared on the same service. Disease-specific decisions, such as the extent of endometriosis excision or of cancer staging, belong to the Endometriosis Surgery and Gynaecological Oncology focus pages.
This page isolates the robotic modality — selection, set-up, docking and team workflow — rather than any single disease, which the broader gynaecological surgery page cannot do. Disease-specific depth sits on the Endometriosis Surgery and Gynaecological Oncology pages, and ATDERA's dated courses are separate programmes with their own faculty and fees.
Clinical-year students and graduate physicians aiming for obstetrics and gynaecology who are curious about when the robot is chosen over conventional laparoscopy and how a robotic theatre team is organised.
Obstetrician-gynaecologists with a specialist qualification who name robotic surgery as their interest; the attachment remains with the gynaecological surgery department, which allocates robotic lists over 12–24 months where its schedule allows.
Both routes are strictly observational: observers attend theatre and clinic without patient contact, do not scrub or assist, and are not assessed on any procedure.
| Clinical Observership | Clinical Fellowship | |
|---|---|---|
| Duration | 1, 2 or 4 weeks (extension possible on request) | 12 to 24 months, agreed with the host department |
| Who it is for | Medical students in clinical years and graduate physicians from outside Turkey | Recognised specialists and family physicians seeking advanced exposure beyond standard specialty training |
| Format | Full-time, strictly observational — outpatient clinics, operating theatre, ward rounds, case discussions | Extended observational attachment to one department: daily practice, service structure and specific techniques |
| Certificate | Certificate of attendance issued by the host hospital and signed by its Medical Director | Certificate on completion issued under the accreditation of the affiliated university school of medicine |
| Start | Rotations typically begin on a Monday; dates are agreed individually | Start date planned around the date you request and the department's capacity |
One online application for both routes. State Robotic Gynaecological Surgery as your focus in your objectives; ATDERA reviews the file and prepares it for the Gynaecological Surgery department, then replies with next steps, typically within two working days.
Already started? The application page picks up where you left off.
ATDERA Global Limited (Companies House No. 17173428, registered in England and Wales) coordinates this programme for a university teaching hospital in Istanbul. ATDERA is not a hospital and does not provide clinical care; admission decisions and certificates are the host hospital's.
One online application covers both routes and all twenty-one specialties — details, programme choice and documents in five short steps. ATDERA reviews the file and replies with next steps, typically within two working days.
