[Robot-assisted surgery on a broad front--without evidence for being cost-effective].

Robot-assisted surgery on a broad front - without evidence for being cost-effective Robot-assisted surgery is currently heavily marketed. The HTA centre in Region Västra Götaland has produced five HTA reports regarding use of robot-assisted surgery in different clinical situations (prostatic cancer, benign gynaecological surgery, pediatric pyeloplasty and fundoplication, and rectal cancer), finding weak evidence for a patient value. The current report by Per Carlsson et al confirms that robot-assisted surgery indeed leads to increased costs that are not balanced by augmented patient value, i.e. robot-assisted surgery cannot be regarded as cost efficient. We comment critically on the capricious introduction of new techniques/devices, a procedure that stands in sharp contrast to the strictly formalized system for approval of new drugs.