Chen CQ, Zhao ZX. Strengths and weaknesses analysis, individualized selection and future trends of surgical navigation protocols. World J Gastrointest Surg 2026; 18(10): 120304 [DOI: 10.4240/wjgs.120304]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Zong-Xian Zhao, Department of General Surgery, Fuyang People’s Hospital, No. 501 Sanqing Road, Yingzhou District, Fuyang 236000, Anhui Province, China. 461901580@qq.com
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
review-article
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This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Gastrointest Surg. Oct 27, 2026; 18(10): 120304 Published online Oct 27, 2026. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.120304
Strengths and weaknesses analysis, individualized selection and future trends of surgical navigation protocols
Chao-Qian Chen, Zong-Xian Zhao
Chao-Qian Chen, Department of Anorectal Surgery, Fuyang People’s Hospital, Fuyang 236000, Anhui Province, China
Zong-Xian Zhao, Department of General Surgery, Fuyang People’s Hospital, Fuyang 236000, Anhui Province, China
Author contributions: Chen CC and Zhao ZX designed and wrote the manuscript.
AI contribution statement: We only use the Grammarly AI tool for language polishing. No AI tools were involved in the study design or result interpretation in this research. No images in the manuscript were generated by AI.
Supported by Anhui Provincial Health Commission, No. AHWJ2023Baa20164.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Corresponding author: Zong-Xian Zhao, Department of General Surgery, Fuyang People’s Hospital, No. 501 Sanqing Road, Yingzhou District, Fuyang 236000, Anhui Province, China. 461901580@qq.com
Received: February 24, 2026 Revised: April 2, 2026 Accepted: May 19, 2026 Published online: October 27, 2026 Processing time: 237 Days and 17.8 Hours
Abstract
The advancement of surgery consistently pursues the core goals of precision, minimal invasiveness, safety and efficiency. Precise surgical navigation serves as a pivotal link for individualized and refined surgical treatment, and it plays a vital role in reducing surgical difficulty, mitigating operative risks and improving patient prognosis. A recent study applied intraoperative ultrasound combined with indocyanine green fluorescence imaging for surgical navigation in complex hepatocellular carcinoma resection, which reduced intraoperative blood loss, improved the detection rate of occult lesions, enabled timely surgical plan adjustment and lowered postoperative complication rates, while achieving superior oncological outcomes. This research inspires in-depth thinking on surgical navigation technologies. What is the current developmental status of surgical navigation technologies in general surgery? What are the main categories of available surgical navigation modalities, and what are their respective inherent strengths and limitations? Furthermore, what core trends and developmental directions will shape the evolution of surgical navigation technology in the future? This article conducts an in-depth analysis and review of the above key issues, providing references for the clinical application and further technological innovation of surgical navigation in the field of precision general surgery.
Core Tip: Surgical advancement continuously pursues precision, minimal invasiveness, safety, and efficiency. Surgical navigation in general surgery has evolved from empirical navigation to single-modality imaging and further to multimodal integrated precision navigation. The combination of intraoperative ultrasound and indocyanine green fluorescence imaging demonstrated significant advantages with favorable safety and efficacy, as well as low application thresholds. Different navigation modalities have distinct advantages and limitations, supporting individualized selection based on disease and patient conditions. Future development will focus on artificial intelligence-assisted and next-generation digital navigation technologies to further improve surgical accuracy and safety, providing evidence for personalized and refined precision surgery.
