Impact of Patient Body Mass Index on Post-Operative Recovery from Robotic-Assisted Hysterectomy

Area of Science:

• Gynecologic Oncology
• Minimally Invasive Surgery
• Bariatric Surgery Considerations

Background:

• High body mass index (BMI) presents challenges in gynecologic cancer surgery.
• Robotic hysterectomy (RH) is an option for these patients, but outcomes require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate patient-reported outcomes and surgical parameters for individuals with high BMI undergoing RH for endometrial or cervical cancer/pre-cancer.
• To assess the impact of obesity severity on recovery and quality of life after RH.

Main Methods:

• A prospective, descriptive study of 53 patients with BMI > 35 kg/m² undergoing RH.
• Data collected included operative time, hospital stay, return to activity, pain, physical independence, and quality of life (QOL) scores.
• Patients were stratified into BMI groups to analyze the effect of obesity severity.

Main Results:

• 50 patients completed RH; median BMI was 42 kg/m². Mean operating time was 128.1 min; median hospital stay was 2 days.
• Increased BMI correlated with minor increases in operative and anesthetic times.
• Significant improvements in pain and physical independence were observed over time, with no significant differences between BMI groups for QOL, pain, or physical independence.

Conclusions:

• Robotic hysterectomy is associated with high patient-reported recovery and quality of life in patients with high BMI.
• The severity of obesity does not appear to negatively impact patient outcomes or quality of life following robotic hysterectomy.