Performance and safety of Kangduo surgical robot versus da Vinci robotic system for urologic surgeries

Kangduo (KD) surgical robot is a novel robotic system in China, and some animal experiments and single-arm clinical trials have indicated its effectiveness, feasibility, and safety for urologic surgeries. This study intended to compare the performance and safety of the KD surgical robot with the da Vinci (DV) robotic system in patients who received urologic surgeries.

A total of 201 patients who received urologic surgeries were divided into the KD group (N = 60) and the DV group (N = 141) according to the actual surgical methods.

The median (range) operation time [180.0 (30.0-540.0) minutes vs. 130.0 (70.0-360.0) minutes] (P < 0.001) and indwelling time of abdominal drainage tube [5.0 (2.0-14.0) days vs. 3.0 (2.0-18.0) days] (P < 0.001) were longer, but the intraoperative blood loss [50.0 (10.0-200.0) mL vs. 50.0 (10.0-400.0) mL] (P < 0.001) was less in the KD group than the DV group. The median values of white blood cells at the 1st (P = 0.032) and 3rd (P = 0.022) day after surgery were decreased in the KD group compared to the DV group. The incidence of infection (11.7% vs. 29.1%) (P = 0.008) and fever (15.0% vs. 30.5%) (P = 0.023) was lower in the KD group compared to the DV group. Postoperative and follow-up parameters, including time of urinary incontinence improvement, administration of hemostatic, pain numeric rating scale score, Barthel's index score, and patient satisfaction, were not different between the two groups (all P > 0.05).

The KD surgical robot unveils satisfactory surgical performance compared to the DV robotic system in patients receiving urologic surgeries.