Patient Perceptions of Open, Laparoscopic, and Robotic Gynecological Surgeries

Abstract

Objective. To investigate patient knowledge and attitudes toward surgical approaches in gynecology. Design. An anonymous Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved questionnaire survey. Patients/Setting. A total of 219 women seeking obstetrical and gynecological care in two offices affiliated with an academic medical center. Results. Thirty-four percent of the participants did not understand the difference between open and laparoscopic surgeries. 56% of the participants knew that laparoscopy is a better surgical approach for patients than open abdominal surgeries, while 37% thought that laparoscopy requires the surgeon to have a higher technical skill. 46% of the participants do not understand the difference between laparoscopic and robotic procedures. 67.5% of the participants did not know that the surgeon moves the robot's arms to perform the surgery. Higher educational level and/or history of previous abdominal surgeries were associated with the highest rates of answering all the questions correctly (p < 0.05), after controlling for age and race. Conclusions. A substantial percentage of patients do not understand the difference between various surgical approaches. Health care providers should not assume that their patients have an adequate understanding of their surgical options and accordingly should educate them about those options so they can make truly informed decisions.

Gender differences in understanding and acceptance of robot-assisted surgery

“…Such perceptions were associated with the robot being perceived as an artificial intelligence with automated functions to carry out invasive procedures, without the assistance of a surgeon. This supports work by Irani et al [14], where more than 65% of the participants were unaware that the surgeon directly controls the manoeuvre of one or more robotic arms through a computer-controlled system.…”

“…However, research has consistently demonstrated that patient understanding of robotic-assisted surgery is poor. Irani et al [14] examined patient knowledge and understanding of the differences between open, laparoscopic and robotic-assisted surgery and found that 34% 1 3 of participants did not understand the difference between open and laparoscopic surgeries and 46% of the participants did not understand the difference between laparoscopic and robotic procedures. Furthermore, 67.5% of participants were not aware that the surgeon directly controls the movement of one or more robotic arms.…”

“…Furthermore, 67.5% of participants were not aware that the surgeon directly controls the movement of one or more robotic arms. The authors acknowledged that differences in education and surgical history may account for some of these differences, but not all of them, and concluded that health care providers should not assume that patients have an adequate understanding of their surgical options and should educate them about those options in order that they can make informed decisions [14]. Ahn et al [2] surveyed 208 female gynaecological patients and identified gaps and inconsistencies in patient knowledge surrounding modes of surgical interventions.…”

An exploratory study of public’ awareness about robotics-assisted surgery in Kuwait

“…A previous study found that the most important factors associated with patient decision-making regarding MIS are: Safety, degree of postoperative pain, and recovery time [12]. Furthermore, despite the widespread use of RAS in populations, such as in the USA, public acceptance of this technology still poses a challenge and has been found to be directly related to the public's educational level and experience with the use of social media [13]. Interestingly, individuals who like to use computer technology are more accepting of the use of advanced healthcare technology, including RAS [14].…”

Robotics and Reproductive Surgery

“…3 Meanwhile, patients are unable to comprehend the difference between various surgical approaches to the same pathology with only approximately one-third of them understanding that the "robot" is, in fact, a teleoperator where the surgeon controls every move of the "robot's" arms to perform the surgery. 4 Physicians, themselves, often receive conflicting information on the practical and theoretical uses of this technology, especially in the setting of fertility preserving procedures. It is, therefore, a critical time to review robotic applications in reproductive surgery.…”