A method of performing a surgical procedure on a patient is provided. The method typically comprises positioning a surgical work
station of a robotically controlled surgical
system and a patient on which a surgical procedure is to be performed in close proximity relative to each other, directing a
field of view of an
image capture device of the surgical work
station at a
surgical site on the patient, at which site the surgical procedure is to be performed, and introducing at least one robotically controlled
surgical instrument on the surgical work
station to the
surgical site so that an end
effector of the
surgical instrument is within the
field of view of the
image capture device. The method typically further comprises displaying an image of the
surgical site and the end
effector on a display area of an
image display at an operator control station of the surgical
system. The
image display is typically operatively connected to the
image capture device so as to display, on the display area, the image of the surgical site and the end
effector captured by the image capture device. The method can further include permitting an operator of the surgical
system to manipulate a master control at the operator control station whilst viewing the image of the surgical site on the
image display, the master control being operatively associated with the
surgical instrument thereby to cause the end effector to move in response to manipulation of the master control so as to perform at least part of the surgical procedure on the patient at the surgical site. The method yet further typically comprises operatively linking the image display to a source of selectively accessible auxiliary information related to the surgical procedure to be performed, enabling the operator selectively to access the source of auxiliary information from the operator control station so as to forward the auxiliary information to the image display, causing the auxiliary information to be displayed across the display area of the image display in response to the operator selectively accessing the source of auxiliary information at the operator control station and enabling the operator selectively to move the auxiliary information when displayed on the image display relative to the image of the surgical site displayed on the image display. The master control is typically operatively linked with the source of auxiliary information, enabling the operator selectively to access the source of auxiliary information then including permitting the operator selectively to disassociate the master control from the surgical instrument and to use the master control to access the source of auxiliary information so as to enable the auxiliary information to be displayed on the display area of the image display.