The Hugo RAS Robotic System: A Brief Overview of Current Evidence in Urological Surgery

Abstract

The advent of minimally invasive surgery within the field of urology has seen its pivotal turning point during the early 2000s, when robotic surgery was implemented. With the spectrum of available robotic systems on the market currently, this article aims to briefly summarize the current clinical evidence on the latest platform to date in urological surgery—Medtronic's Hugo™ RAS system. A literature review was carried out from December 1, 2022, to April 31, 2023, and yielded an initial search of 34 articles. A total of 10 studies were eventually included, ranging from case reports, cadaveric studies to cohort studies of interest related to radical prostatectomy, partial nephrectomy, and simple and radical nephrectomy. Baseline patient demographics, technicalities of the system such as docking and port placement, and perioperative outcomes were documented as relevant. The new Hugo RAS robotic system offers advanced spatial features and extended capabilities as a novel robotic platform. As its adoption continues to grow and its application expanded to other potential aspects such as endourology, future studies are eagerly awaited to assess and validate its safety profile and clinical utility as a novel surgical platform.