Dr. Daniel Elliot discusses Robot-Assisted Laparoscopic Sacrocolpopexy. This information was recently presented at the North Central Section of the American Urological Association in Scottsdale, Ariz.
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: With the advent of robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery, application of open surgical principles is increasingly translated to the minimally invasive laparoscopic approach.
OBJECTIVES: We examined the learning curve for the robot-assisted sacrocolpopexy (RALS) as defined by operative times, mesh erosion and prolapse recurrence.
METHODS: From 2002 to 2008, 53 consecutive females with symptomatic high-grade post-hysterectomy vaginal vault prolapse underwent RALS in the Department of Urology by one surgical team. OR times and post-operative complications were collected prospectively along with patient demographics. A linear regression model was used to predict a learning curve in sequential cases.
RESULTS: With an average follow-up of 35.8 months (range 1.4 to 67), 48 females, with an average age of 66 years underwent RALS (5 conversions to open).
CONCLUSIONS: A decrease in OR time and post-operative complications is evident with more cases of RALS, regardless of patient age, when performed by one surgical team.
AUTHORS: M. A. Childs, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN; S. McGee, J. Routh, G. Chow, D. Elliot of Mayo Clinic
