Outcomes of Robot Assisted Trans Abdominal Retromuscular Umbilical Prosthesis (rTARUP): A Dutch Multicenter Study.

Aim: Robotic assisted Trans Abdominal Retromuscular Umbilical Prosthesis (rTARUP) is being increasingly performed to treat Ventral Hernia. Prospective (long-term) studies are scarce. In this study we investigated 125 patients with short and long-term follow-up, regarding surgical and hernia-related quality-of-life outcomes. Material and Methods: Patients undergoing rTARUP were selected from consecutive prospectively collected databases from two teaching hospitals from the Netherlands. The patients were operated by experienced surgeons in a standardized manner. Patient characteristics and short-term outcomes after surgery were retrospectively reviewed and follow up data about hernia recurrence and quality of life was prospectively collected. Results: 125 rTARUP patients were included for analysis. The most common hernia type was primary (n = 61), followed by recurrent (n = 37) and incisional (n = 27). The median surgical time was 90 min. 44/61 (72%) patients with a primary ventral hernia were treated as daycase. The 30-day complication rate was 7.2%. Median follow up was 24 months after which a large majority of patients (84%) reported to feel better or much better. There were 3 reoperations for recurrences (2.4%). Conclusion: rTARUP is a safe and effective procedure that can be performed in a timely manner, with short hospital stay and a low complication rate. Further research is needed into economical costs and benefits to fully justify the use of robotic surgery for these indications.