Robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery in gynaecological oncology; initial experience at Oslo Radium Hospital and 16 months follow-up.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to report our initial experience using the Da Vinci, a three-armed Intuitive Surgical robotic unit, in relation to gynae-oncological operations.

METHODS: A prospective database was used in this retrospective analysis of 53 consecutive women with gynae-oncological diseases who were operated by the same surgeon in a single institution. All the patients were informed of the risks inherent with each surgical procedure as well as the potential advantages.

RESULTS: 125 different procedures were performed, including total robotic radical hysterectomy (n = 25), restaging with total hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, total omentectomy, appendectomy, bilateral pelvic and para-aortic node dissections. Mean age of the patients, 45.8 (range 27-70) years; mean operative time, 219 (range 110-530) min; mean console time, 170 (range 60-445) min; mean estimated blood loss, 57 (range 10-300) ml; mean post-operative stay, 3 (range 1-6) days. No robot-related complications occurred. No conversions were reported. Mean follow-up time was 16 (range 0-28) months.

CONCLUSIONS: Our preliminary experience with robotic surgery suggest that it is a safe technique and could allow complex radical operations to be performed with greater precision.