Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39586878›Full record

ReviewSurgical endoscopy2025

Robotics, money and research: is data or physician payments driving robotic bariatric surgery literature?

Andrew N Parker, Joseph Nguyen-Lee, Efrain Padilla, Mark Mahan, G Craig Wood, Alexandra Falvo, Ryan D Horsley, Vladan Obradovic, Anthony T Petrick

Abstract readReview
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Surgical endoscopy, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Andrew N ParkerCollege of Business, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, USA.
Joseph Nguyen-LeeDivision of Bariatric & Foregut Surgery, Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, PA, 17822, USA.ORCID 0009-0009-7780-2507
Efrain PadillaDivision of Bariatric & Foregut Surgery, Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, PA, 17822, USA.
Mark MahanDivision of Bariatric & Foregut Surgery, Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, PA, 17822, USA.
G Craig WoodObesity Research Institute, Geisinger Health System, Danville, PA, USA.
Alexandra FalvoDivision of Bariatric & Foregut Surgery, Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, PA, 17822, USA.
Ryan D HorsleyDivision of Bariatric & Foregut Surgery, Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, PA, 17822, USA.
Vladan ObradovicDivision of Bariatric & Foregut Surgery, Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, PA, 17822, USA.
Anthony T PetrickDivision of Bariatric & Foregut Surgery, Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, PA, 17822, USA. atpetrick@geisinger.edu.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionPhysician payments from Intuitive Surgical have increased from 37 million to over 53 million per year since 2018. The study was completed to determine the accuracy of conflict of interest (COI) statements and the influence of industry payments on the valuation of the robotic platform.

methodsPubMed and Medline search for "robotic, robotic assisted" and "bariatric, Gastric Bypass, Sleeve Gastrectomy, Biliopancreatic Diversion, and Single Anastomosis Duodeno-Ileal Bypass". Manuscripts on robotic bariatric surgery with a US author with an electronic publication (EPub) date between 2018 and 2022 were included. Manuscripts were reviewed for disclosure of COI. The manuscripts were reviewed by two reviewers. The Introduction, Results, and Discussion/Conclusion were scored as Robotic Unfavorable, Neutral, or Robotic Favorable. https://OpenPaymentsData.CMS.gov was reviewed for physician payments 1 year prior and 1 year following the EPub date.

resultsRobotic favorable manuscripts were significantly less likely to have an adequate COI. Authors of robotic favorable manuscripts were significantly more likely to have a COI. Authors of robotic favorable manuscripts had significantly a higher Intuitive physician compensation. In addition, authors of robotic favorable manuscripts were significantly more likely to have an increase in the amount of compensation by Intuitive Surgical the following year.

conclusionOur findings suggest that Intuitive open payments have significantly influenced favorable reports in robotic bariatric literature. The submission of open payments data, to include compensation amounts should be required for manuscript publication or acceptance to surgical conferences.

Indexed as

Bariatric SurgeryConflict of InterestPhysiciansRobotic Surgical ProceduresHumansBariatric surgeryConflict of interestOpenpayments.govRobotic surgerySurgical literature

Identifiers

PMID39586878

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.