Shortened operative time for pediatric robotic versus laparoscopic dismembered pyeloplasty

Robotic-assisted laparoscopic pyeloplasty (RALP) is increasingly becoming the standard procedure for management of ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJO) in the pediatric population, but few studies have shown a clear advantage over the more technically demanding laparoscopic pyeloplasty (LP) in children. The objective was to study the patients treated with RALP or LP at our institution and the associated outcomes for each minimally invasive approach for the correction of UPJO.

Our laparoscopic and robotic database was queried to identify all patients with a history of primary robotic-assisted or laparoscopic dismembered pyeloplasty for the correction of UPJO performed at our institution from January 2010 through November 2013 and were retrospectively reviewed. We analyzed age, surgical time, blood loss, hospital stay length, postoperative complications, and success rate.

Seventy-three total patients were identified as having RALP or LP during this time period with five patients excluded from the analysis. We identified 55 patients with RALP and 13 patients with LP. No differences in success rate or postoperative complications were found for the two cohorts. The length of procedure was significantly shorter for the RALP group compared to the LP group.