The following is a summary of “A comparison of clinical outcomes and costs between robotic and open ventral hernia repair,” published in the JULY 2023 issue of Surgery by Kudsi, et al.
With the increasing adoption of robotic ventral hernia repair (RVHR), gathering real-world evidence to ensure its appropriate utilization was crucial. For a study, researchers retrospectively analyzed open ventral hernia repair (OVHR) and RVHR data. Outcomes and costs were compared using inverse probability treatment weighting with propensity scores to estimate the average treatment effect on the treated RVHR.
The study included 675 OVHR and 609 RVHR cases. Demographics and hernia characteristics were comparable between the two groups. The rates of complications were lower in the RVHR group (P < 0.001), particularly for Clavien-Dindo grade-III complications (13.2% in OVHR vs. 4.9% in RVHR, P < 0.001). RVHR resulted in fewer surgical site events (21.5% in OVHR vs. 12.2% in RVHR, P < 0.001). Additionally, recurrence rates were higher in OVHR (8.9% in OVHR vs. 2.8% in RVHR, P < 0.001). Although RVHR had higher hospital costs (Δ = $2,456, P = 0.005), these were offset by lower post-discharge costs than OVHR (Δ = $799, P = 0.023). Overall, the total costs did not differ significantly between the two groups (Δ = $1,656, P = 0.081).
While hospital costs were higher for RVHR, the lower postoperative complications favored RVHR regarding post-discharge expenses, resulting in comparable total costs to OVHR. The study provided valuable insights into the cost-effectiveness and outcomes of RVHR compared to OVHR in ventral hernia repair.
Source: americanjournalofsurgery.com/article/S0002-9610(23)00047-8/fulltext