Mar 1 2016
Intuitive Surgical, Inc. today announced the published results from a new study1 titled, “Multicenter analysis comparing robotic, open, laparoscopic and vaginal hysterectomies performed by high volume surgeons for benign indication.” When evaluating comparable surgeon experience, the study found that women undergoing benign hysterectomies by robotic-assisted surgeons using da Vinci® Surgical Systems had better outcomes and experienced fewer complications compared to conventional abdominal, vaginal and laparoscopic hysterectomies outcomes.2
The study, which was published in the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, and led by Peter Lim, M.D. at Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno, Nevada, analyzed over 32,000 benign hysterectomy cases and compared the outcomes of high-volume surgeons across the four surgical approaches. The study compared 30-day outcomes from robotic-assisted hysterectomies performed by high-volume surgeons (≥60 procedures) with data from high-volume surgeons obtained from the Premier Perspective database for abdominal, vaginal, and laparoscopic hysterectomies. The data evaluated included: 2,300 robotic-assisted, 9,745 abdominal, 8,121 vaginal and 11,952 laparoscopic hysterectomies.
“It’s long been clear that minimally invasive hysterectomy can help reduce complications and speed recovery. But past studies comparing open and minimally invasive approaches compared less experienced robotic-assisted surgeons with colleagues in other approaches,” said Peter Lim, M.D., FACOG, The Center of Hope, Renown Regional Medical Center, Nevada. “This study is designed to compare only the outcomes of similarly experienced surgeons, regardless of surgical approach, which provides a much more accurate picture of comparative effectiveness.”
The study found subjects undergoing robotic assisted procedures with Intuitive Surgical’s da Vinci robotic surgical systems experienced significantly fewer intraoperative complications than patients who underwent abdominal or vaginal procedures and fewer than those who had a laparoscopic procedure. These better outcomes were observed despite the increased complexity of patients in the robotic-assisted group.
“Women in the robotic-assisted group had higher rates of obesity, adhesions and large uterus, suggesting that the robotic technology actually enables surgeons to perform surgery on more complex cases,” said Lim. “This study gives women and the surgeons who care for them important insights to inform their decision making.”
“This study provides compelling and valuable evidence on the advantages of robotic-assisted benign hysterectomy,” said Myriam Curet, M.D., Senior Vice President, Chief Medical Officer at Intuitive Surgical. “For women undergoing these procedures, the benefits of robotic-assisted surgery shown in this study carry real and tangible results for their recovery and return to everyday life.”
1 Intuitive Surgical Inc. provided funding for independent research and editorial support.
2 Lim PC, Crane JT, English EJ, Farnam RW, Garza DM, Winter ML, Rozeboom JL. Multicenter analysis comparing robotic, open, laparoscopic, and vaginal hysterectomies performed by high-volume surgeons for benign indications. International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics. 2016.