A study conducted by the Asan Medical Center (AMC) has found similar postoperative complications between robotic and laparoscopic surgery, the hospital said Wednesday.

There have been few studies on the safety of robotic surgery compared to laparoscopic surgery. However, there is no difference in the safety of the two surgical procedures for kidney cancer, which requires total kidney resection, according to the study results.

A research team led by Jung In-gab정인갑, a professor of the Department of Urology, analyzed 23,753 patients who underwent robotic and laparoscopic renal resection at 416 hospitals in the U.S. from 2003 to 2015, and analyzed the surgical procedure, complications, and length of hospital stay.

Professor Jung In-gab

Out of the patients surveyed, 18,573 received laparoscopic surgery, and 5,180 received robotic surgery. When patients who underwent open surgery are included, the rate of robot surgery in 2003 was about 1.5 percent of total surgery, but it increased steadily to 27.0 percent in 2015.

Of the patients who underwent robotic surgery, about 3.5 percent had major complications such as heart failure and sepsis. About 3.8 percent of the laparoscopic patients had complications, and the results showed that the likelihoods of complications were almost equal.

Also, the patients were admitted to the hospital for four days on average after the renal resection. The percentage of the patients who were admitted for more extended periods than that was 24.7 percent for laparoscopic surgery and 24.2 percent for robot surgery.

"This study showed that robotic surgery, which is actively performed in renal allografts, has a similar surgical effect compared to conventional laparoscopic surgery,” Professor Jung said. "Research shows that robotic surgery is costly and has a relatively long operation time, but if the future of robotic surgery spreads and cheaper medical robots are introduced, this problem will be resolved gradually."

Since the partial removal of the kidneys or prostate cancer resection in kidney cancer surgery is more difficult than laparoscopic surgery, medical teams should consult with the patient about the appropriate procedure for the patient's condition and disease, he added.

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