Hand-assisted Robotic Approach for Ovarian Cancer Management

Since its introduction in 2005, robotic assisted surgical procedures have been widely adopted by gynecologists to perform surgical procedures such as cystectomies, sacral colpopexies, myomectomies, radical hysterectomies and cancer staging surgeries. Recent studies show that, as compared to a conventional laparoscopic procedure or laparotomy, robotic surgery is associated with decreased blood loss; lower conversion rate; less intraoperative complications and shorter hospital stay. Robotic assisted staging surgery has also been increasingly employed for a variety of gynecological malignancies such as ovarian, endometrial, and cervical cancers.

Ovarian cancer is a peritoneal disease, with a higher risk of peritoneal spread, compared to other gynecological cancers. Ovarian cancer is one of the ten leading cancer types and accounts for 3% of all new cancer cases among women in the United States in 2013. The overall 5-year survival rate of ovarian cancer is 43%, and when the disease is diagnosed in the early stages, the survival rate can be as high as 94%.