Telerobotic-assisted laparoscopic hysterectomy for benign and oncologic pathologies: initial clinical experience with 30 patients

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Abstract
Telerobotic-assisted laparoscopic attempts to provide technological solutions to the inherent limitations of traditional laparoscopic surgery. The aim of this study is to report the first experience of two teams concerning telerobotic-assisted laparoscopic hysterectomy for benign and malignant pathologies. This study included 14 patients at the University Hospital Saint Pierre of Brussels (Belgium) and 16 patients at the Cancer Center of Nancy (France) from September 1999 to July 2003. The indications for surgery were uterine malignant diseases in 12 cases (stade I) (41%), and benign pathologies of the uterus in 18 cases (59%). Five postoperative complications (17%) occurred, none related to the robotic system. Robotic surgery can be safely performed in gynecologic and gynecologic–oncologic surgery with no increase in complication rates. A significant advance is represented by the surgeon’s ergonomic improvement.