Implementation and applications of robotic surgery within gynecologic oncology and gynecology; analysis of the first thousand cases.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To describe the effects of implementing a robotic surgical program within gynecologic oncology and gynecology at a tertiary referral hospital. DESIGN: Prospective study. SETTING: University Hospital, Lund and Lund University, Sweden. METHODS: Based on prospective data retrieved for all patients, we evaluated intraoperative times, estimated blood loss, rate of conversion and rate of intraoperative complications in the first 1000 robotic surgeries to describe the effects of implementing the technology and the applications of robotic surgery over time. RESULTS: Between the years 2005-2011, 606 women were operated on for a malignant disease and 394 for a benign disorder. The median age was 49 years (14-89 years) and the median BMI 25,2 kg/m2 (14.7-61.7 kg/m2). The median blood loss was 100 ml (range 0-1300 ml). Nineteen (1.9%) intraoperative complications occurred. Conversion to laparotomy was necessary in 37 patients (3.7%) primarily due to excessive adhesions (n = 15) or unexpected disseminated cancer (n = 11). The proportion of minimally invasive surgery for cervical, endometrial, and early ovarian cancer increased from 26% in 2005 to 81% in 2011. A wide variety of procedures including rare and very complex surgery, otherwise operated by laparotomy, were gradually introduced. Overall, the total OR time per procedure decreased by 159 minutes between the first and last two-year periods, mainly due to a reduction in surgical time by 132 minutes, mainly seen in oncology cases. CONCLUSION: Robotic surgery enables minimally invasive surgery for a larger proportion of patients with malignant and select benign gynecological disorders with low rates of conversions and intraoperative complications. The effort and time needed to build a successful robotic team should not be underestimated. An adequate surgical volume with a large proportion of complex cases is necessary to motivate a robotic program.