Strategies and factors to maximize cost-effectiveness of robotic surgery in benign gynecological disease.

Abstract

Operating room procedures account for half of the gross hospital cost in the United States per annum. Hysterectomy is the eighth most common surgery nationally, with more than 300,000 cases every year. Since the introduction of robotic surgery in benign gynecology, concern has been raised regarding the increased cost without significant improvements in outcomes or practice. Surgeon volume, complication rates, length of hospital stay, and selected intraoperative instrumentation are all factors that have a direct effect on cost in robotic surgery. Cost is indirectly influenced by the OR team workflow, postoperative processes to expedite discharge, and converting surgery to the ambulatory setting. More research is needed to develop evidence-based practices for cost containment in robotic surgery.