Robotic surgery in treatment of retroperitoneal tumors. Comparative single center study

Retroperitoneal tumors (RT)—group of benign and malignant mesenchymal tumors without any specific organ affiliation. Surgery is the only effective treatment. Robotic surgery is becoming popular and an effective approach in abdominal surgery. There is insufficient data about robotic treatment of retroperitoneal tumors. The comparative retrospective study of the results of surgical treatment of RTs between 2009 and 2019 was performed. 88 patients were surgically treated. The average age of patients was 58 (21;85). Clinical manifestations of RT were presented in 59 (67.1%) cases. RTs were asymptomatic in 29 patients (32.9%). The preoperative diagnosis was based on radiological diagnostic methods. Depending on the surgical approach, patients were divided into 3 groups. 35 patients were operated with robot-assisted (RA) method, 14 with laparoscopic (L), and 39 with traditional (TA) open approach. TA had the least operation time, but the most amount of blood loss. The median duration of postoperative drainage, morbidity rate, and postoperative length of stat were less after robotic approaches. The conversion rate was significantly less in robotic group in comparison with laparoscopy. There were no postoperative mortalities after each approach. The robot-assisted surgery could be successfully used in cases of retroperitoneal tumors. It’s feasible, safe, and comfortable for patients. The RA significantly reduces risks in cases when the tumor is located in hard-to-reach small spaces and/or attached to the main vessels and the size of the tumor is less than 10 cm.