Robot-assisted Laparoscopic Myomectomy Is an Improvement Over Laparotomy in Women with a Limited Number of Myomas

Study Objective: To compare surgical and immediate postoperative results of robot-assisted laparoscopic myomectomy vs myomectomy via laparotomy in patients with 3 myomas or fewer. Design: Case-control (Canadian Task Force classification II-2). Setting: University hospital. Patients: Seventy-five women who had undergone robotic-assisted laparoscopic myomectomy were compared with patients who had undergone myomectomy via laparotomy. Interventions: Medical records were reviewed for surgical and postoperative variables. Both groups had 3 myomas or fewer confirmed at preoperative magnetic resonance imaging or final pathology report. Measurements and Main Results: No significant differences were observed between patients insofar as preoperative demographic data. There was a significant increase in mean duration of surgery for robotic-assisted myomectomy. There was a significant decrease in blood loss, change in hematocrit concentration on postoperative day I, length of stay, number of days to regular diet, and febrile morbidity in robotic-assisted myomectomies. There were no significant differences in operative or postoperative complications. Conclusion: Although robotic-assisted myomectomy took substantially longer, most of the other variables improved in comparison with similar procedures performed via laparotomy. Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology (2010) 17, 306-310 (C) 2010 AAGL. All rights reserved.