Abstract
BACKGROUND: The study compared the characteristics of women undergoing Medtronic Hugo™ robotically assisted surgery (RAS) versus laparoscopic surgery (LS) for benign hysterectomy at two hospitals in Panama. It also analyzed the types of surgery associated with shorter operating times. METHODS: We performed a retrospective secondary data analysis of clinical records, from 63 women who underwent RAS and 59 who had LS, between July 1, 2022, and June 29, 2023. We analyzed age, body mass index (BMI), indications for hysterectomy, surgical type, time, complications, and hospital stays using Chi-square tests, Wilcoxon rank sum tests, and multivariable linear regression. RESULTS: Compared to women who underwent LS, those in the RAS group were older and had lower BMI (p = 0.018). Surgical time and blood loss were lower in the RAS group (76 min vs. 117 min and 30 ml vs. 200 ml, p < 0.001). No complications occurred in either group. RAS was associated with a 22% reduction in surgical time after controlling for patients’ age, BMI, preoperative diagnoses, uterine weight, and blood loss during surgery (p 0.005). CONCLUSION: Hugo™ RAS showed a good safety profile and shorter operating time compared to laparoscopic hysterectomy, in contrast to previous research that indicated longer RAS durations. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: Not applicable.