[Robotic surgery in endometrial cancer: Feasibility in obese patients]

Minimally invasive surgery is a technique frequently used in gynecologic surgery. The robot-assisted surgery is a recent approach, and the benefits are not yet proven. The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility to use robot-assisted surgery for obese patient with endometrial cancer.

All patients undergoing a robotic surgery for uterus malignant indication between March 2013 and May 2016 in our center were retrospectively included. Patients were divided in two groups, according to their body mass index (BMI). The group with BMI<30kg/m² was the reference for this comparative study. The main criteria was the robot operative time. The other criteria were total operating time, hospital stay and intraoperative and postoperative complications.

Seventy-seven patients met inclusion criteria for analysis. The median robot operative time was 110minutes for all patients [21-341], without difference between the five groups (P=0.60). There was no difference for the total operative time (P=0.50). The median hospital stay was 3 days (P=0.92). There were ten intraoperative complications. One patient had a conversion (1.3%). There was no statistical difference for postoperative complications (P=1).

Our study found few differences in the surgical management by laparoscopic robot-assisted between obese and non obese women. Robot-assisted surgery seems to be feasible for uterine cancer treatment of obese patients. Prospective and randomized studies are needed to assess the benefit of the robotic surgery.