For Benign Adnexal Disease, the Robot Strikes Out

For benign adnexal disease, laparoscopic surgery is safer, less painful, and leads to shorter postoperative hospitalization and lower costs than laparotomy. Using a nationwide database of information from >500 U.S. hospitals, investigators compared outcomes among >87,000 women undergoing minimally invasive surgery for benign adnexal disease (oophorectomy or ovarian cystectomy) using robotic assistance or conventional laparoscopic surgery from 2009 to 2012.

During the study period, use of the robot increased from 3.5% to 15.0% for oophorectomy and from 2.4% to 12.9% for cystectomy. In analyses controlled for baseline comorbidities, intraoperative complications were more frequent with use of the robot (3.4% vs. 2.1% for oophorectomy, 2.0% vs. …