One of my favorite instruments for robotic surgery is the PK dissector.

As all daVinci instruments, It is made by intuitive surgical. It was developed in combination with gyrus medical.

It is a bipolar instrument that can be used instead of the maryland bipolar or precise bipolar.
The main advantages include:
Less charring and sticking to tissue.
A wider opening angle to grab tissue easier.
Sound feedback to tell you when the tissue should be coagulated enough.

The main disadvantage is the blunt tip which makes it less useful as a dissector than the maryland bipolar (but more useful than the blunter precise).

For surgeons interested in obtaining this you also need a gyrus PK generator to provide the input.

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I use the da Vinci hot shears in my dominant (right) hand. I find it useful to take down adhesions from the sigmoid to the pelvis by cutting.

It provides excellent hemostasis by using cautery for the bladder neck or seminal vesicles, and is an excellent scissor to open the endopelvic fascia and to release the neurovascular bundle.

The only negative is the increased production of smoke that happens with this instrument compared to the hook.

For non-nerve sparing procedures, I still use the hook cautery.

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