Robot-assisted surgery in gynecological oncology: a review

Abstract

Abstract: Robot-assisted surgery has forever changed the surgical management of gynecologic malignancies since it first gained approval by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2005 for use in gynecological surgery. Robot-assisted surgery has enabled a greater number of gynecologic oncologists to offer their patients minimally invasive procedures that were once performed mostly by laparotomy and only rarely by traditional laparoscopy. Although traditional laparoscopy has been present in our field for several decades, its current utilization pales in comparison to that of robot-assisted surgery. Robot-assisted surgery is currently being utilized in the management of endometrial, cervical, and ovarian cancers, and its implementation in more complex procedures is expanding at a rapid pace. The purpose of this review article is to evaluate the current literature and provide a critical appraisal of the current indications, perioperative outcomes, and the future direction of robot-assisted surgery in gynecologic oncology. A PubMed database search was performed using keywords such as “robotic surgery”, “endometrial cancer”, “cervical cancer”, and “ovarian cancer”. Relevant articles were reviewed and incorporated as deemed appropriate. Keywords: gynecological cancer, laparoscopic surgery, gynecological surgery, da Vinci robot, minimally invasive surgery