Robotic Inguinal Hernia Repair and Obesity, Where Do We Stand?

Abstract

Introduction: Robotic hernia repair is an established modality; we aimed to assess the safety and efficacy in obese patients. Methods: A retrospective cross-control study was conducted on the results for 99 patients who have undergone robotic hernia repairs. Student t-test and Mann-Whitney U test were used to compare between the obese group of patients and the nonobese. Surgical Research section has approved the study and exempted from IRB. Outcome measures included patient demographics, operative time, hospital stay, complications, re-admission rates, and hernia recurrence rates. Results: The study included 78 nonobese and 21 obese patients, with an average age of 44.2 and 48.1 years, all of whom underwent robotic inguinal hernia repair. There was no difference regarding patient demographics. However, the obese group was older, and had a higher ASA score than the nonobese group. We found no difference between the two groups regarding operative time, the number of mesh used, length of hospital stay, complication rates, further intervention requirement for complications, or re-admission rates or hernial recurrence rates. Conclusion: There was no difference between the obese and nonobese patient undergoing robotic hernial repairs. This technique was found to be safe and efficient in the obese patient with minimal complications, despite significantly higher rate of comorbidity compared to the nonobese patient.