Robot-assisted radical nephrectomy using novel surgical robot platform, hinotori: Report of initial series of 13 cases

Objectives: The aims of the present study were to describe the perioperative findings of the first series of patients undergoing robot-assisted radical nephrectomy (RARN) with a newly launched platform, the hinotori surgical robot system, and compare the findings with a similar set receiving RARN with the existing system, da Vinci.Methods: This study included 34 patients, consisting of 13 and 21 undergoing RARN using the hinotori and da Vinci robotic systems, respectively. As a rule, RARN was performed via an intraperitoneal approach employing 3 robotic arms, irrespective of the robotic systems.Results: In the hinotori group, the median age, body mass index and tumor diameter were 65 years, 23.3 kg/m(2) and 50 mm, respectively. All surgical procedures with hinotori could be completed by a purely robotic approach. In the hinotori group, the median operative time, time using the robotic system, estimated blood loss and length of hospital stay were 157, 83 min, 11 mL and 6 days, respectively, and major perioperative complications did not occur. In this group, 3, 1 and 9 patients were pathologically diagnosed with pT1a, pT1b and pT3a tumors, respectively. No significant differences in baseline characteristics were noted between the hinotori and da Vinci groups, and there were also no significant differences in perioperative findings between them.Conclusions: Despite a case series with a small sample size, this is the first report evaluating RARN using the hinotori surgical robot system, which could be safely conducted and achieved perioperative outcomes similar to that using the da Vinci system.