The Article below summarizes a recent study reported in the journal Surgical Endoscopy. The study demonstrates the equivalence of Robotic colectomy with Laparoscopic colectomy as it relates to patient recovery. Robotic surgery was associated with longer operative times. Although robotic surgery has well established benefits for urologic surgery, its role in general surgery is still to be determined. Certainly for abdominal procedures where the alternative to robotic surgery would be open surgery, the ability to complete the procedure with minimally invasive incisions is a strong advantage. As yet, however, it is unclear if there are any benefits over successful laparoscopic surgery.
Robotic, laparoscopic colectomy have similar outcomes
MANHASSET, NY – Robotic and laparoscopic left and right colectomies had similar outcomes in terms of hospital stay, return of normal bowel function and titration of patient-controlled analgesia, according to a recent single-center study published online in the journal Surgical Endoscopy.
The study out of the North Shore University Hospital of the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, who had robotic and laparoscopic colectomies (79 and 92, respectively) between November 2004 and November 2009.
The study also noted the total procedure time difference between the laparoscopic and robotic colectomies was much smaller than previously published accounts—an average of 140 minutes versus 135 minutes for right colectomy and 168 versus 203 minutes for left colectomy, respectively.
The authors claimed their study is one of the largest reviews of robotic colorectal surgery to date. Perioperative outcomes they reported on include operative time, operative blood loss, time to return of bowel function, time to discontinuation of patient controlled analgesia, length of stay, and intraoperative or postoperative complications.
“We believe that our results further demonstrate the equivalence of robotic surgery to laparoscopic surgery in colorectal procedures,” the authors stated.
They noted that future research should focus on surgeon-specific variables, such as comfort, ergonomics, distractibility and ease of use to distinguish robotic from laparoscopic colorectal surgery.
