Is robotic hepatectomy cost-effective? In view of patient-reported outcomes.
BACKGROUND
Robotic hepatectomy has been accepted as an alternative for patients needing surgery. However, few reports addressed the patient-reported outcomes and long-term quality of life (QoL) of patients having undergone robotic liver surgery.


METHODS
This study presented the QoL and cost-effectiveness associated with robotic and open hepatectomy by performing a comparative survey using two standardized questionnaires (Short Form-36 and Gastrointestinal Quality of Life Index).


RESULTS
One hundred patients completed the study. The robotic group tended to experienced longer operation time but shorter length of hospital stay compared to open group. Moreover, the robotic group had faster return to daily activities, less need of patient-controlled anesthesia, and less wound-related complaints in long-term follow-up. The robotic group incurred higher peri-operative expenses; however, the cost of inpatient care was lower.


CONCLUSIONS
Our study suggested that robotic hepatectomy provided good post-operative QoL and recovery of daily activity. However, efforts for lowering the financial burden of medical care by reducing the cost of robotic surgery is necessary for further application.
['Wu|Chao-Ying|CY|', 'Chen|Po-Da|PD|', 'Chou|Wei-Han|WH|', 'Liang|Jin-Tung|JT|', 'Huang|Chiun-Sheng|CS|', 'Wu|Yao-Ming|YM|']
D000368:Aged D016058:Analgesia, Patient-Controlled D017046:Cost Savings D017281:Cost of Illness D005260:Female D005500:Follow-Up Studies D006498:Hepatectomy D006801:Humans D007902:Length of Stay D008099:Liver D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D061646:Operative Time D017060:Patient Satisfaction D010361:Patients D011788:Quality of Life D020127:Recovery of Function D065287:Robotic Surgical Procedures D013997:Time Factors D016896:Treatment Outcome
Robotic hepatectomy Cost-effectiveness Patient-reported outcome Quality of life