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Updated: Dec 24, 2025
Single-Port Robotic-assisted Transaxillary Breast-conserving Surgery: A Prospective, Single-arm, Non-randomized Phase IIa Clinical Trial
Published on: August 19, 2025
Readmission and complications after robotic surgery: experience of 10,000 operations at a comprehensive cancer center
Pooya Banapour1, Bertram Yuh2, Avinash Chenam2
1Department of Surgery, City of Hope National Medical Center, 1500 E. Duarte Rd, MOB L002H, Duarte, CA, 91010, USA. pbanapour@coh.org.
Abstract:
Evaluation of safety is of paramount importance with adoption of novel surgical technology. Although robotic surgery has become widely used in oncologic surgery, analysis of safety is lacking in comparison to traditional techniques. Standardized assessment of robotic surgical outcomes and adverse events following oncologic surgery is necessary for quality improvement with innovative technology. Between 2003 and 2016, 10,013 unique robotic operations were performed in 9,858 patients. Our prospectively maintained database was retrospectively reviewed for hospital readmissions and Clavien-Dindo grade ≥ 2 complications within 30 days. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify predictors of surgical complications and hospital readmissions. Cases were stratified by discipline: genitourinary (n = 8240), gynecologic (n = 857), thoracic (n = 457), gastrointestinal (n = 322), hepatobiliary (n = 60), ear/nose/throat (n = 44) and general (n = 33). Intraoperative complications occurred in 42 surgeries (0.4%). Postoperative complications occurred in 946 patients [9.4%, highest grade 2 (n = 574), 3 (n = 288), 4 (n = 72), 5 (n = 10)]. Most frequent complications were ileus (154, 16.3%), anemia (91, 9.6%), cardiac arrhythmia (62, 6.6%), deep vein thrombosis/pulmonary embolus (47, 5.0%), wound infection (45, 4.8%) and urinary leak (43, 4.5%). 405 patients (4.0%) required readmission. Most common causes for hospital readmission were ileus (44, 10.9%), urinary leak (23, 5.7%), urinary tract infection (23, 5.7%), intra-abdominal abscess/fluid collection (23, 5.7%), and small bowel obstruction (19, 4.7%). On multivariable analysis, longer operative time and older age predicted complications and readmissions (p ≤ 0.02). Robotic-assisted surgery appears a safe for oncologic surgery with acceptable hospital readmission and complication rates. Older age and longer operative time were associated with complications and readmission.
