Robotics Against the Evidence

The use of robotic surgery for common operations, such as colectomy, but also for even simple procedures, such as inguinal and ventral hernia surgery, is increasing rapidly. In 2012, a trial randomized patients with right ‐sided colonic cancer to receive robot-assisted colectomy or laparoscopically assisted colectomy. Of 70 randomized patients, hospital stay, surgical complications, resection-margin clearance, and the number of lymph nodes harvested were similar in both groups. The duration of surgery was longer in the robotic group, and overall hospital costs were also significantly higher.
Source: JAMA Surgery - Category: Sports Medicine Source Type: research