Impact of Surgeon-Controlled Suction During Robotic Prostatectomy to Reduce Dependence on Bedside Assistance.

Background: Suction during robotic surgery has traditionally been performed by a bedside assistant. Adequately skilled assistants are not always available. We assessed a purpose-designed robotic surgeon-controlled suction catheter for efficiency and safety by comparing with historic cases of suction controlled by a dedicated bedside assistant using standard rigid laparoscopic suction. Methods: Beginning in February 2019, the remotely operated suction irrigation (ROSI) device was used in all robotic prostatectomy procedures, which is a flexible suction catheter manipulated by the surgeon such that a bedside assistant is never required for suction. The initial 300 consecutive cases performed with ROSI were compared with the 300 immediately previous procedures using bedside assistant suction (BAS). Results: There were no statistically significant differences between groups in age, body mass index, American Anesthesiologist Association score, prostate specific antigen, or pathologic stage. Lymph node dissection was performed in all 600 patients. All 300 ROSI cases were completed without requiring switching to BAS. Estimated blood loss (102.7 vs 120.2 mL, p = 0.001) and operative time (156.1 vs 149.3 minutes, p < 0.001) were slightly lower in the ROSI group. There was no statistical difference in the 90-day complication rate (Clavien ≥III) between groups, with both having 3% of patients readmitted or seen in the emergency department within 90 days of surgery. Conclusion: Surgeon-controlled suction allowed more surgeon autonomy without a negative impact on efficiency or safety issues requiring "bailout" suctioning by the bedside assistant whether urgent or otherwise. Robotic surgeons without access to skilled bedside assistants should consider suctioning for themselves not unlike the norm for many laparoscopic surgeons.

Single-port Robotic Surgery Allows Same-day Discharge in Majority of Cases.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the influence of single-port (SP) robotic surgery on length of stay (LOS) in our initial experience using the da Vinci SP robot as compared with traditional, multiport procedures. METHODS: We evaluated our single surgeon (RA) prospective database for the initial 100 SP procedures performed between January 2019 and January 2020. Patient LOS was compared with standard multiport robotic surgery patients since we began routinely offering same-day discharge (SDD) in September 2016. RESULTS: Among the initial 100 SP robotic surgeries, there were 59 prostatectomies, 18 partial nephrectomies, 12 pyeloplasties, 4 nephrectomies, 4 adrenalectomies, 2 partial cystectomies, and 1 nephroureterectomy. The rate of SDD in SP procedures was higher compared to our historical SDD for multiport robotic surgeries despite uniformly offering SDD to all patients in both groups (88% vs 51%, P < .0001). Among prostatectomies, 88% of SP patients were discharged the same day versus 55% (P < .001). Among partial nephrectomies, 83% of SP patients went home the same day versus 17% (P < .001) as well as 83% of pyeloplasty patients versus 52% (P = .064). For SP adrenalectomy, nephrectomy, partial cystectomy, and nephroureterectomy, all were discharged the same day. CONCLUSION: Our initial experience with SP robotic surgery suggests earlier discharge is possible with the large majority (88%) so far opting to go home the same day as surgery. Further experience will be necessary to allow analysis of pain scores and analgesic usage as potential causative factors.