Robotic surgery: applications and cost effectiveness

Abstract

Robotic surgery has been embraced by many surgical specialties and is being incorporated into an ever growing number of surgical procedures within those specialties. The outcomes and cost data that are available varies greatly between fields. This review examines the history of robotic surgery, the advantages and disadvantages of this technology followed by the applications of robotic surgery in the fields of: urology, gynecology, pediatric surgery and general surgery. Finally, the cost data from the fields of urology and pediatric surgery are reviewed and used to create a model to evaluate the financial impact of a surgical robot on a hospital.

Do Costs of Robotic Surgery Matter?

“…For many procedures, the main financial advantage for the laparoscopic and robotic approach is the decreased hospital stay (11,16). The reduced number of impatient hospital days and earlier return to regular diet allows for cost savings.…”

“…It is difficult to calculate the savings for society as sick leave, insurance for inability to work, etc… vary enormously on an individual basis. There is no evidence that long term morbidity varies considerably between open, laparoscopic and robot-assisted procedures (16).…”

“…Doctors and patients often embrace new modes of treatment before their merits and weaknesses are fully understood (36). Robotic technology has been readily adopted over the last five years in both Europe and the United States (16). The number of robot-assisted procedures that are performed world wide has nearly tripled since 2007, from 80000 to 250000 in 2009 (36).…”

Robotic resection of retrorectal tumor: an alternative to the Kraske procedure

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