Robotic surgery is being used more and more widely. It is well known in hospitals that robotic operations usually involve less blood loss and that patients recover faster on average. The findings of the study from the University of Sheffield confirm this picture and show that the number of re-admissions with this technology is falling considerably.
This makes robotic surgery increasingly appear to be the surgery of the future. The findings were made in 338 surgery for non-metastatic bladder cancer patients, half of whom were operated on with a robot and the other half without a robot. The study is published in JAMA and conducted by the University of Sheffield and University College London.
Striking drop in readmissions
Research by the University of Sheffield and University College now also shows unequivocally in bladder cancer operations that robotic surgery can significantly reduce the number of readmissions. Specifically, after surgery with robotic assistance, there were 21% readmissions within 90 days of surgery, compared to 32% for operations without a robot. In total, this means a 51% reduction in the number of readmissions. Add to this the fact that the ‘robot patient group’ stayed in hospital on average eight days after the operation, while the other group had to stay on average ten days, and it is immediately clear that the pressure on hospital beds is significantly reduced thanks to the use of robots.
The researchers say the findings provide the strongest evidence to date of the benefits of robotic surgery for patients. They therefore urge NICE to make this form available as a clinical option in the UK for all major abdominal surgery. So far, NICE continues to recommend open surgery as the gold standard for highly complex surgeries, and the researchers hope this changes.
Robotic surgery versus open surgery
Co-principal investigator, Professor John Kelly, Professor of Oncology in UCL’s Division of Surgery & Interventional Science and Consultant Surgeon at University College London Hospitals Trust: “Despite the increasing availability of robotic-assisted surgery, there is no significant clinical evaluation regarding the patient’s recovery.”
“In this study, we wanted to determine whether robotic surgery, compared to open surgery, reduced hospital time, reduced readmissions and improved fitness and quality of life. This was demonstrated on all counts. An unexpected finding was the marked reduction in blood clots in patients undergoing robotic surgery. This indicates a safe operation with patients benefiting from significantly fewer complications, early mobilization and a faster return to normal life.”
Robotchirurgie & facts
In 2003 Jelle Ruurda was the first person in the world who obtained his doctorate in robotic surgery. Since the autumn of 2019, he has been the first professor at UMC Utrecht in the new chair of ‘minimally invasive robot-assisted surgery’. Professor of robotic surgery Ruurda expects the number of surgical robots to grow rapidly and significantly. And that’s what happened, because the benefits are great. Rijnstate says, for example: “We mainly use the Da Vinci surgical robot for complex urological, surgical and gynecological operations. The purpose of this is that people recover faster due to less blood loss, less pain and because less scar tissue is formed. We can also perform more operations via keyhole surgery with the operating robot.”
In the Netherlands, robots are now being used in more and more places and in more and more types of operations. Relatively new, for example, is that in Europe a new, remote-controlled, R-One is currently available for angioplasty at six hospitals. cardiac catheterization robot is deployed. One of those hospitals is the Maasstad Hospital in Rotterdam.
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