Laparoscopic ureteric reimplantation versus robotic‐assisted laparoscopic ureteric reimplantation for lower ureter pathology: Single‐institutional comparative study

Objective To compare and analyze the results of laparoscopic ureteric reimplantation and robotic-assisted ureteric reimplantation at our tertiary institute. Materials and methods We retrospectively reviewed data of adult patients who underwent laparoscopic ureteric reimplantation and robotic-assisted ureteric reimplantation between January 2000 and December 2020. Data were analyzed for 19 patients in the laparoscopic group and 47 patients in the robotic group. The data were compared in both the groups. Results The most common presentation was flank pain (67.89%) followed by recurrent UTI (21.05%) in both the groups. The baseline characteristics and demographic data including age, gender, laterality, Charlson comorbidity index, and BMI were comparable in both the groups. The time range from previous surgeries to presentation varied from 7 days to 5 years. There is statistically significant difference between the operative time in the laparoscopic (224.23 +/- 76.61 min) and robotic groups (187.06 +/- 52.81 min) (p = 0.027). There is statistically significant difference between the hospital stay also between the two groups (9.07 +/- 2.75 vs. 6 +/- 1.65 days p-0.001). There were no differences in the complication rate and postoperative outcomes in both the groups. Mean length of follow-up was 28 +/- 25.5 (2-108) months and 20.57 +/- 19.91 (2-96) months in both the groups, respectively. The success rates in terms of symptomatic improvement, decrease in hydronephrosis, and improved drainage in the laparoscopic and robotic groups were 94.73% and 95.45%, respectively, which were statistically not significant. Conclusions Robotic ureteric reimplantation and laparoscopic ureteric reimplantation are comparable in clinical outcomes. Robotic-assisted laparoscopic ureteric reimplantation is feasible, safe, and faster with excellent outcomes, decreased hospital stay, and minimal complications.