• Hala Muaddi, Melanie El Hafid, Woo Jin Choi, Erin Lillie, Charles de Mestral, Avery Nathens, Therese A Stukel, and Paul J Karanicolas.
• Division of General Surgery, Department of Surgery University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
• Ann. Surg. 2021 Mar 1; 273 (3): 467-473.

ObjectiveDescribe clinical outcomes (eg, postoperative complications, survival) after robotic surgery compared to open or laparoscopic surgery.BackgroundRobotic surgery utilization has increased over the years across a wide range of surgical procedures. However, evidence supporting improved clinical outcomes after robotic surgery is limited.MethodsWe systematically searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Central Register of systematic reviews from inception to January 2019 for systematic reviews describing postoperative outcomes after robotic surgery. We qualitatively described patient outcomes of commonly performed robotic procedures: radical prostatectomy, hysterectomy, lobectomy, thymectomy, rectal resection, partial nephrectomy, distal gastrectomy, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, hepatectomy, distal pancreatectomy, and cholecystectomy.ResultsOne hundred fifty-four systematic reviews included 336 studies and 18 randomized controlled trials reporting on patient outcomes after robotic compared to laparoscopic or open procedures. Data from the randomized controlled trials demonstrate that robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy offered fewer biochemical recurrence and improvement in quality of recovery and pain scores only up to 6 weeks postoperatively compared to open radical prostatectomy. When compared to laparoscopic prostatectomy, robotic surgery offered improved urinary and sexual functions. Robotic surgery for endometrial cancer had fewer conversion to open compared to laparoscopic. Otherwise, robotic surgery outcomes were similar to conventional surgical approaches for other procedures except for radical hysterectomy where minimally invasive approaches may result in patient harm compared to open approach.ConclusionRobotic surgery has been widely incorporated into practise despite limited supporting evidence. More rigorous research focused on patient-important benefits is needed before further expansion of robotic surgery.Copyright © 2020 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

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