ArticleJournal of the American College of Surgeons2026
Association Between Surgical Robotic Availability and Open Operation Rate: A Geographic Analysis.
Article in Journal of the American College of Surgeons, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Tele-robot-assisted prostatectomy: the first systematic review and single-arm meta-analysis.Journal of robotic surgery · 2026Pooled it
- Interhospital transfer and outcomes after robotic emergency general surgery: a national analysis.Journal of robotic surgery · 2026Article
- Robotic Cholecystectomy Remains Safe and Effective After Regular Hours: A 3-Year Update.JSLS : Journal of the Society of Laparoendoscopic SurgeonsArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDespite the widespread adoption of minimally invasive surgery in the US, disparities in its use persist. One unexplored contributor is geographic access to robotic surgical systems. This study evaluates the geospatial association between: (1) Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) and open surgery rates, (2) availability of robotic systems and open surgery, and (3) open surgery rates in demographically similar areas with differing robotic access. STUDY
designData from 6 sources were linked at the ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA) level to identify hospitals and to extract procedure modality, presence of robotic systems, and area characteristics. Regression analysis assessed the association between SVI and open surgery rates. Open rates were then compared between hospitals with and without robotic systems. Propensity score matching was used to compare open rates across matched ZCTAs by robotic access and SVI levels.
resultsHigher social vulnerability was associated with increased open surgery rates (estimate = 0.20; p < 0.01), with rates ranging from 18.3% in low-vulnerability areas to 32.7% in high-vulnerability areas. Among 3,446 eligible ZCTAs, 57% had at least 1 robotic system. ZCTAs without robotic systems had higher open surgery rates (42.9 vs 19.4 per 100 procedures; relative rate = 2.21; p < 0.01). This association remained significant after matching (relative rate = 1.66; p < 0.01), for the low-mid- and high-SVI strata, and 3 of the 5 procedures examined.
conclusionsWhen correcting for geographic variation, the availability of robotic surgery was associated with a decrease in open surgery rates.
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Registered trials
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.