Patients who underwent radical cystectomy for bladder cancer treatment experienced similar complication rates whether they underwent open or robot-assisted surgery, according to an article in New England Journal of Medicine.
One hundred eighteen patients were randomly assigned to either open surgery or robot-assisted surgery. Researchers found 62 percent of robot-assisted surgery patients and 66 percent of open surgery patients experienced complications between grades 2 and 5. High-grade complications, between grade 3 and 5, occurred in 22 percent of robot-assisted surgery patients and 21 percent of open surgery patients.
However, robot-assisted surgery patients experienced a lower average of intraoperative blood loss, and open surgery patients experienced shorter surgery times.
The average hospital length of stay was eight days for both groups.
The study results suggest robotic techniques don't carry a large benefit regarding perioperative morbidity, according to the article. Researchers suggest further trials are needed to identify benefits and risks of new surgical technologies.
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