At this point, it’s not a secret that I am not a fan of robotic inguinal hernia repairs.
I’ve talked about it many times before, specifically in my “Do Both Sides of Your Hernia Really Need a Robot?” , “When High Tech Isn’t High Value...”, and “The Truth About Hernia Repairs...” blog posts.
However, despite growing evidence and ongoing discussion, robotic inguinal hernia repairs continue to increase in popularity.
Last month, the ROGER trial was published, and it further supports my point. This prospective, randomized study evaluated 182 patients undergoing elective primary inguinal hernia repair at a single institution. Patients were randomly assigned to one of two groups:
Group 1: Laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair
Group 2: Robotic inguinal hernia repair
After their surgery, researchers compared postoperative pain, operating time, and complication rates.
Unsurprisingly, there was no significant difference in the pain or compilation rates for the two repairs. If anything, the patients who underwent the laparoscopic repair were in slightly less pain 30 days post-op.
There is one more thing…