Impact of obesity on surgical outcomes for robotic‑assisted transvaginal natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (RA-vNOTES) hysterectomy.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the impact of obesity on surgical outcomes following robotic-assisted transvaginal natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (RA-vNOTES) for hysterectomy.

DESIGN

Retrospective cohort.

SETTING

Single academic tertiary care hospital in Houston, Texas, USA.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 287 patients who underwent RA-vNOTES hysterectomy between June 2019 and November 2024.

INTERVENTIONS

RA-vNOTES hysterectomy performed in patients with and without obesity.

MAIN RESULTS

Obesity was classified by the WHO classification as body mass index (BMI) ≥30 kg/m. A total of 154 patients had a BMI of <30 kg/m (non-obese group), while 133 patients had a BMI of ≥30 kg/m (obese group). The comparison of uterine weights indicated that the uteri excised from obese group were significantly larger (131 [84-250] g vs. 101 [72-192] g, p = 0.04). The primary outcomes, including total operative time, port placement time, robot dock time, and robot console time, did not demonstrate statistically significant differences. However, hysterectomy time remained significantly longer in patients with obesity (42 min vs. 38 min, p = 0.003) after adjustment for uterine weight. No significant differences were observed in estimated blood loss, length of hospitalization, conversion rate, post-operative pain, and complications. Only 2 (1.5 %) cases in the obese group were converted from RA-vNOTES to conventional RA laparoscopy.

CONCLUSION

Although obesity does extend hysterectomy time, RA-vNOTES hysterectomy yields surgical outcomes comparable in patients with obesity to those in patients without obesity, representing an efficient and safe approach for gynecological procedures in individuals with obesity.