Comparison of outcomes between laparotomy and robotic technique for cervical cancer

We evaluated the results of patients who had undergone robotic-assisted radical hysterectomy or open radical hysterectomy for cervical cancer. The study included eight patients who had undergone robotic-assisted radical hysterectomy (group 1) and seven patients who had undergone radical hysterectomy (group 2). Demographic characteristics and operative results of all patients were compared. Body mass index, age, previous abdominal surgery, surgical procedure performed, total anesthesia duration, operation duration, intra- and postoperative complications, duration of hospital stay, and number of resected lymph nodes were recorded. Mean age of patients in the robotic surgery group was 47.8 years (38-56 years) and in the laparotomy group was 45.4 years (32-57 years). Body mass index was 33.2 kg/m2 (24.8-40.2 kg/m2) in group 1 and 27.8 kg/m2 (23.5-33.7 kg/m2) in group 2. Total duration of operation in group 1 and 2 was 233 min (185-321 min) and 210.8 min (134-310 min), respectively. Mean duration of hospital stay was 3.5 days (2-7 days) in group 1 and 9.5 days (6-11 days) in group 2. Mean number of resected lymph nodes was 23.6 (17-36) and 38.8 (22-59) in group 1 and 2, respectively. Robotic surgery was superior to laparotomy in terms of duration of hospital stay, estimated amount of blood loss, and number of complications. Operation duration was longer with robotic surgery compared with laparotomy, and rate of complications was higher with laparotomy. Although the number of patients in the present study is limited, the results are important since they represent the first data relating to robotic surgery in Turkey. © 2010 Springer-Verlag London Ltd.