Abstract Cervical spine surgery is technically demanding due to complex anatomy and proximity to vital neurovascular structures. While cervical pedicle screws offer superior biomechanical stability, their placement carries significant risks with traditional freehand techniques. Robotic-assisted spine surgery has emerged as a promising technology to enhance accuracy, safety, and efficiency. This narrative review synthesizes data from recent clinical studies, meta-analyses, and technical reports describing the evolution from freehand techniques through computer-assisted navigation to current robotic systems. Comparative analyses demonstrate that robotic assistance achieves superior accuracy (98%–99%) compared to conventional methods, with an experience-neutralizing effect standardizing outcomes across surgeons of varying expertise. Recent data from Indian populations demonstrate comparable accuracy with anatomically adapted techniques. The review examines current applications, including cervical pedicle screw placement, lateral mass screw fixation, odontoid screw placement, and deformity correction. Critical operational aspects are analyzed, including patient positioning using Mayfield clamp fixation, workflow optimization, and intraoperative accuracy verification protocols. Infrastructure requirements, learning curve considerations, and confirmatory imaging protocols during initial adoption are discussed. Robotic assistance represents a transformative technology with the potential to standardize complex cervical spine procedures across diverse surgical settings while maintaining high accuracy and safety profiles.
Vidyadhara et al. (Thu,) studied this question.