Outcome and quality of life in a prospective cohort of the first 100 robotic surgeries for endometrial cancer, with focus on elderly patients.
OBJECTIVE
Evaluation of surgical outcomes, including quality of life, in patients with endometrial cancer in the early phase of implementation of a robotic surgery program, comparing elderly with younger patients.


METHODS
Prospective evaluation of perioperative data and a postoperative quality-of-life survey of the first 100 robotic surgeries for endometrial cancer performed in the Division of Gynecologic Oncology at a tertiary cancer center. Women were divided in 2 groups based on age, allowing comparison of outcomes between the elderly (≥70 years) and younger groups (<70 years).


RESULTS
Of the first 100 patients, 41 were elderly (mean age, 78 years). The elderly group had significantly higher number of comorbidities and more advanced disease when compared with the younger women. Despite this, elderly women had similar mean operative times (252 vs 243 minutes), mean console times (171 vs 175 minutes), and mean blood loss (83 vs 81 mL) as compared with the younger group. Conversion rate to minilaparotomy was 6%, all of which were performed at the end of surgery for the removal of enlarged uteri that could not be delivered vaginally. The overall perioperative complication rates were not statistically different between the age groups. Median hospital stay tended to be longer for the elderly women (2 vs 1 day) but was not statistically significant. The postoperative quality-of-life assessment revealed that patients young and old alike were highly satisfied with the procedure.


CONCLUSIONS
Prospective evaluation indicates that even in the early phases of implementation of a robotic surgical program for endometrial cancer, the procedure seems safe and confers an excellent quality of life for elderly patients.
Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Nursing, Segal Cancer Center, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Zvi
Z
Vaknin
Tamar
T
Perri
Susie
S
Lau
Claire
C
Deland
Nancy
N
Drummond
Zeev
Z
Rosberger
Iris
I
Gourdji
Walter H
WH
Gotlieb
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018269:Carcinoma, Endometrioid / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000601:surgery*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016889:Endometrial Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D013509:Gynecologic Surgical Procedures / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods / Q000534:rehabilitation; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D019060:Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures / Q000534:rehabilitation; D011379:Prognosis; D011788:Quality of Life; D012371:Robotics / Q000379:methods; D016896:Treatment Outcome