Impact of minimally invasive surgery on surgical outcomes for obese women with endometrial cancer following robotic surgery introduction; a single centre study

BackgroundThe aim was to assess the surgical outcomes in obese women with endometrial cancer following robotic surgery introduction in a London tertiary gynaecological cancer unit. MethodsData was prospectively collected for 281 women undergoing endometrial cancer surgery in 2016, 2018 and 2019 (robotic surgery was introduced in November 2017). ResultsThe proportion of obese and morbidly obese patients undergoing minimally invasive surgery (MIS) significantly increased following robotic surgery introduction from 43.8% to 69.6% (p < 0.001). Overall robotic surgery operating time was not affected by higher body mass index (r = 0.177, 95% CI -0.068-0.402). There was no difference in the length of stay or in the frequency and severity of complication rates between obese, morbidly obese and non-obese populations undergoing MIS. ConclusionRobotic surgery led to a significant rise in MIS and improved surgical outcomes for obese and morbidly obese women with endometrial cancer within 12 months of its introduction.