LEARNING CURVE OF ROBOT-ASSISTED MYOMECTOMY

Abstract

Introduction. Robot-assisted myomectomy is the most modern types of surgical interventions for uterine myoma in patients of reproductive age. It benefit in simplicity of intracorporeal suturing and lack of laparoscopic myomectomy limitations. Of great scientific interest is the speed of mastering the method. We studied the learning curve of a robot-assisted myomectomy based on our own experience. Material and methods. A retrospective analysis of the results of 45 robot-assisted operations for uterine myomas from August 2016 to June 2017 was performed at the City Clinical Hospital named after S.I. Spasokukotskiy. All operations were performed by a single surgeon with extensive experience in laparoscopic surgery. The surgeon had no experience of robotic operations. Results. According to a retrospective analysis, there was stromg correlation between the acquired experience of robotic surgery and such indicators as the average duration of the operation, the time of thermal ischemia and the volume of blood loss. Conclusion. The learning curve of a robot-assisted myomectomy for an experienced laparoscopic surgeon improves to 15 operations. This experience is enough to perform operations with a minimum duration, volume of blood loss and complications.