LAUSR

Since the introduction of the Da Vinci robot, robot-assisted hernia repairs have become more common. We aim to report our initial experience of robotic transabdominal preperitoneal (R-TAPP) inguinal hernia repair. A retrospective chart review was performed in patients who underwent R-TAPP inguinal hernia repair with a prosthetic mesh using the Da Vinci platform (Intuitive Surgical Inc). Data were collected for patient characteristics and surgical outcomes. A total of 21 patients underwent R-TAPP repair consecutively. The mean age was 54.1 ±16.4 years. Twenty patients (95.2%) were male, and the mean body mass index was 23.8 ± 1.9. Bilateral hernia repairs were performed on 2 (9.5%) patients. Six cases (28.5%) of huge scrotal hernias were performed by R-TAPP. The operation time was 91.8 ± 20.4 min for unilateral inguinal hernia and 154.5 ± 26.2 min for bilateral inguinal hernia. The mean console operative time was 61.4 ± 16.9 min for unilateral inguinal hernia and 128 ± 25.5 min for bilateral inguinal hernia. Scrotal vein injury was identified in one patient intraoperatively. Two minor postoperative complications were reported: one with postoperative ileus and the other with umbilical wound seroma. The length of hospital stay was 3.8 ± 0.9 days. Neither mortality nor conversion to open surgery occurred. Our early experience has demonstrated that the R-TAPP inguinal hernia repair is a safe and feasible approach. Cost-effectiveness, optimal procedural steps, and indications for the robotic approach remain to be further investigated.