Cost of robot-assisted surgery may outweigh benefits

Wall Street Journal : Surgeries in which a doctor performs a minimally invasive, or " laparoscopic, ” procedure using robot-controlled tools may not provide any significant benefit to patients compared with simpler, nonrobotic alternatives. Jason Wright of Columbia University led an examination of more than 250 000 records of hysterectomies for noncancerous conditions at US hospitals from 2007 to 2010. The researchers found that for the number of patients who stayed in the hospital for more than two days, 20% had had the robot-assisted procedure compared with 25% who had had the traditional laparoscopic one. The complication rate for both groups remained at 5%. However, the average cost for the robotic procedure was $8868, compared with $6679 for the nonrobotic. Myriam Curet of Intuitive Surgical, which manufactures the da Vinci Surgical Systems used in robotic surgeries, says that the robotic surgical tool was not developed to compete with laparoscopic surgery but to allow more such surgeries to take place, especially in the event of complications, such as the patient being overweight or having an especially large uterus. Wright says that doctors need to more fully discuss the options for surgeries with their patients, so that the right balance of cost and suitability of procedure can be maintained.