AI in surgery

Artificial intelligence (AI) has experienced widespread adoption in recent years. According to Gallup, AI use in workplaces has nearly doubled in two years. Other research shows that we’ve adopted AI even faster than we adopted computers or the internet.

So, it stands to reason that healthcare would be significantly impacted by AI. And this technology isn’t just coming—it’s already here. In 2024, two in three physicians said they were using some type of healthcare AI.

From image analysis to patient chatbots, AI has found many use cases in the industry. But what about surgery, specifically? It’s a significant part of medical care, with more than 51 million procedures performed in the U.S. each year. It’s also a major cost driver, accounting for an estimated 34% of employers’ total healthcare spend.

Fortunately, surgery is yet another area where AI stands to make a difference, both in quality and cost. In recent research, AI showed the potential to improve health outcomes by 40% and reduce treatment costs by 50%.

Put simply, AI is transforming the surgical experience for both patients and providers. Let’s take a closer look at how.

Exploring the impacts of using AI in surgery

When you think of AI’s role in surgery, it’s tempting to imagine a robot operating. That’s not entirely inaccurate, but it’s also not the whole picture. AI is already having a meaningful impact on all phases of surgical care—before, during, and after the procedure.

1. Preoperative planning

Unnecessary surgeries are costly—both in terms of finances and the patient’s quality of life—and they’re more common than you might think. Misdiagnosis is one of the leading causes of needless surgeries, and it’s an area where AI can provide a lot of help.

Predictive analytics analyzes large amounts of patient data (such as age, medical history, and test results) to identify risk factors and predict surgical outcomes. This helps surgeons make more informed decisions about whether surgery is the best course of action and what potential issues they’ll need to keep an eye on if they move forward with a procedure.

If and when surgery is the right route, AI can also help surgeons prepare for the operation by creating 3D models based on a patient’s MRI or CT scans. These detailed visualizations can be personalized to each patient and allow surgeons to plan (or even practice) the operation ahead of time. In this way, AI has also been a powerful addition when educating and training future surgeons.

2. In the operating room

Robotic-assisted surgery isn’t new—it dates back to the 1980s. But with the advent of AI, these robots are becoming increasingly autonomous. Researchers recently trained a robotic surgical system to handle the delicate task of suturing.

While that futuristic feat is impressive, it’s not the norm quite yet. Currently, AI’s role in the operating room is more about supporting (rather than substituting) the human surgeon.

For example, AI can pay attention to surgeries as they’re being performed and then provide information and guidance to doctors as they operate, such as identifying a critical structure (like blood vessels) or flagging unexpected complications. According to a report from the American College of Surgeons, “AI has the ability to anticipate the next 15 to 30 seconds of an operation and provide additional oversight during the surgery.”

Surgeons can be more confident, careful, and focused, often leading to better patient outcomes. In fact, AI-driven surgical robots have been shown to reduce surgical errors by an impressive 39%.

3. Postoperative care and recovery

Surgical care isn’t over when the patient is wheeled out of the operating room. That’s simply the start of the postoperative process, another area where AI is benefiting providers and patients.

For starters, AI is effective at predicting postoperative risks, performing “far better than traditional methods in predicting complications.” Additionally, AI can take all of a patient’s information into account (like medical history or specific recovery needs) and aid doctors in creating personalized recovery plans.

Wearable sensors can also monitor patients’ vital signs and send AI-powered alerts to providers when something isn’t right, allowing for far earlier detection of patient deterioration—and, as a result, a much smoother recovery process.

Benefits and considerations

The AI mustard isn’t going back in the bottle—this technology is here and is positioned to continue revolutionizing healthcare, including surgery. The good news is that AI is largely a positive advancement in the field. AI in surgery offers:

• Personalized patient experiences
• Faster decision-making
• Greater accuracy and precision
• Better training for surgeons
• Fewer complications and errors
• Shorter recovery times
• Improved surgical outcomes

However, using AI in surgery (and in other areas of care) isn’t without its risks. Providers and industry leaders are still researching and navigating several challenges, including:

• Data privacy and security concerns with sensitive patient information
• Bias in AI algorithms if trained on incomplete or unrepresentative data
• Limited transparency in how AI makes decisions
• Regulatory and legal uncertainty
• High costs and access barriers to advanced AI tools

As with anything else, innovation comes with some growing pains and learning curves. But none of these challenges are insurmountable, and are also well worth the benefits of AI in surgery.

AI is already making surgery safer, smarter, and more personalized—and its role will only continue to grow. As these tools become more advanced and widely adopted, the question isn’t if they’ll impact surgery care but how well providers will put them to use.

Carrum Health partners with Centers of Excellence that are committed to using the most advanced, evidence-based approaches (including AI-powered tools) to ensure every member receives the highest quality surgical care.

While AI might be reshaping healthcare, this point remains unchanged: Patients deserve safer procedures and better outcomes at reasonable costs.

Learn more about how employers can partner with Carrum here.