Laparoscopic vesicovaginal fistula repair with robotic reconstruction.
BACKGROUND
To describe, to our knowledge, the first case report of robotic-assisted laparoscopic repair of a vesicovaginal fistula. A 44-year-old woman presented with a vesicovaginal fistula after vaginal hysterectomy. She had been noted to have a bladder injury that was repaired at that time. A vesicovaginal fistula developed several weeks later, and she was referred for repair. The location of the fistula was deemed amenable to repair using a robot-assisted laparoscopic approach.


METHODS
The total operative time was 280 minutes, including placement of ureteral catheters and repositioning. The estimated blood loss was 50 mL. The fistula was repaired using robot-assisted laparoscopic techniques without complications, and the patient went home on the second postoperative day. The Foley catheter was removed 2 weeks postoperatively. The patient continued to void normally without recurrence at 16 weeks of follow-up.


CONCLUSIONS
Laparoscopic repair of vesicovaginal fistulas has not gained widespread acceptance owing to its technical difficulty. We describe a minimally invasive laparoscopic approach using the DaVinci robotic system to repair a vesicovaginal fistula.
Melamud
O
O
Department of Urology, University of California, Irvine, Medical Center, Orange, California 92868, USA.
Eichel
L
L
Turbow
B
B
Shanberg
A
A
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007045:Hysterectomy, Vaginal; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D007889:Leiomyoma / Q000601:surgery; D019060:Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000601:surgery*; D012371:Robotics; D001743:Urinary Bladder / Q000293:injuries / Q000601:surgery; D014594:Uterine Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery; D014719:Vesicovaginal Fistula / Q000601:surgery*