Is Two Better Than One? A Retrospective Study on Colorectal Surgery Outcomes Using the Da Vinci(®) Dual-Console Robot

INTRODUCTION: The da Vinci(®) surgical system has become standard in many specialties. The dual-console system has increased console time for residents during their training. This study evaluated patient outcomes using the single- versus dual-console system in resident training. METHODS: A retrospective case-control study was conducted of patients who underwent various colorectal surgeries using either the single- or dual-console da Vinci(®) system. Patient demographics, comorbidities, and outcomes were collected. RESULTS: Seventy-one patients (54.2%) utilized the single-console and 60 (45.8%) utilized the dual-console. There were no statistically significant differences in patient demographics, procedures performed, conversion to open, ICU admissions, total length of stay, need for blood transfusion, adequacy of surgical margin, number of lymph nodes harvested, anastomotic leak, discharge disposition, or readmission, wound infection, or need for reoperation within 30 days. There was a nonsignificant decrease in operative time with the dual-console system (200.6 vs. 220.2 minutes, p = 0.111). CONCLUSIONS: While this study showed no statistically significant differences between patient outcomes utilizing the single- versus dual-consoles, it showed that it is safe for use in training, and that more research is needed in this area.