Implementation of robot-assisted myomectomy in a large university hospital: a retrospective descriptive study

BACKGROUND: Myomectomy is often the preferred treatment for symptomatic patients with myomas who wish to preserve their fertility, with a shift from open surgery towards minimally invasive techniques. OBJECTIVES: Retrospective study assessing patient and surgery characteristics, follow-up, and outcomes of robot-assisted myomectomy (RAM) and abdominal myomectomy (AM) in women treated between January 1, 2018, and February 28, 2022, in a Belgian tertiary care hospital. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A descriptive analysis was conducted on consecutive patients who underwent myomectomies. 2018 was considered the learning curve for RAM. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: We assessed rate of open surgery, operation time, postoperative hospital stay, and operative complications. RESULTS: In total, 94 RAMs and 15 AMs were performed. The rate of AMs was 56.5% in 2018 versus 2.3% after the learning curve. The median operation time for RAM was 136.5 minutes and 131 minutes for AM. Conversion rate for RAM was 0%. The median postoperative hospital stay after RAM was 1 night and 4 nights for AM. Postoperative complication rate was low, with only 14.9% and 33.3% of patients requiring pharmacological treatment of complications after RAM or AM, respectively. No surgical re-intervention was needed in any group. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of RAM at our centre resulted in a significant reduction of open surgery rate. RAM demonstrated shorter hospital stays and a lower incidence of complications compared to AM. WHAT IS NEW? Our study highlights the successful adoption of RAM, showcasing its potential to replace AM even in complex cases. The findings affirm the safety and feasibility of RAM, supporting its use as a valuable technique for minimally invasive myomectomy.