Outcomes of robotic surgery for inflammatory bowel disease using the Medtronic Hugo™ Robotic-Assisted Surgical platform: a single centre experience

Abstract

Purpose The aim of the study was to compare the perioperative outcomes of patients who underwent surgery performed through laparoscopy or using the Medtronic Hugo™ RAS Methods This is a retrospective study from a prospectively maintained database comparing laparoscopic vs. robotic assisted surgery for IBD from 01/11/2017 to 15/04/2024. All procedures were performed by a single surgeon robotic-naïve with a large experience in laparoscopic surgery for IBD. The robotic procedures were performed using the Medtronic Hugo™ RAS platform (Medtronic, Minneapolis, MN, USA). Outcome were 30-day postoperative complications, operative time, conversion rate, intraoperative complications, length of hospital stay, and readmission rate. Results Among 121 consecutive patients, 80 underwent laparoscopic (LG) and 41 robotic-assisted surgery (RG). Baseline, preoperative and disease-specific characteristics were comparable except for older age (50 [38–56] vs. 38 [28–54] years; p = 0.05) and higher albumin (42 [40–44] vs. 40 [38–42] g/L, p = 0.006) in the RG. Intracorporeal anastomosis was more frequent in the RG (80% vs. 6%; p < 0.001) with longer operative time (240 vs. 205min; p = 0.006), while the conversion rate was not different (5% vs. 10%, p = 0.49). Postoperative complications were similar, including the rate of intra-abdominal septic complications (5% vs. 5%, p = 1), postoperative ileus (5% vs. 7.5%, p = 0.71), bleeding (2% vs. 5%, p = 0.66) and Clavien-Dindo > 2 complications (7% vs. 6%; p = 1). Conclusion IBD surgery performed using the Medtronic Hugo™ RAS is safe and feasible, with similar postoperative outcomes when compared to the laparoscopic approach. *Matteo Rottoli & Stefano Cardelli are equal first authors.