Comparison Between Robotic and Conventional Laparoscopic Hysterectomy Performed Using Single-Port Approach

Robotic surgery is being rapidly implemented globally, and new robotic surgery techniques are being developed. The da Vinci SP surgical system, a new robotic surgery system using a single-port approach, was introduced for the first time in Japan, and its surgical results were compared with those of the conventional single-port plus one-port laparoscopic hysterectomy.

The study included 20 patients who underwent single-port robotic hysterectomy using the da Vinci SP surgical system (SP-RH) between March 2023 and December 2023, and 37 patients who underwent single-port plus one-port laparoscopic hysterectomy (SP + 1-LH) between March 2018 and December 2023. The surgical outcomes and complications were retrospectively compared.

When the SP-RH group was compared with the SP + 1-LH group, intraoperative blood loss was observed to be significantly lower in the SP-RH group. However, no difference in the incidence of intraoperative complications between the two groups was observed. Furthermore, when comparing postoperative inflammatory responses, C-reactive protein levels were significantly lower in the SP + 1-LH group on the third day after surgery, but no other differences were observed.

This study demonstrated that single-port robotic hysterectomy using the da Vinci SP surgical system can be safely introduced and performed in clinical settings. The da Vinci SP surgical system, which uses a single-port platform, can be used in minimally invasive surgeries as a novel operational system.