Robot‐assisted surgery for the management of apical prolapse: a bi‐centre prospective cohort study

Objective Robot‐assisted surgery is a recognised treatment for pelvic‐organ prolapse. Many of the surgical subgroup outcomes for apical prolapse are reported together, leading to a paucity of homogenous data. Design Prospective observational cohort study ( NCT 01598467, clinicaltrials.gov ) assessing outcomes for homogeneous subgroups of robot‐assisted apical prolapse surgery. Setting Two European tertiary referral hospitals. Population Consecutive patients undergoing robot‐assisted sacrocolpopexy ( RASC ) and supracervical hysterectomy with sacrocervicopexy ( RSHS ). Methods Anatomical cure (simplified Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification, sPOPQ , stage 1), subjective cure (symptoms of bulge), and quality of life (Pelvic Floor Impact Questionnaire, PFIQ ‐7). Main outcome measures Primary outcome: anatomical and subjective cure. Secondary outcomes: surgical safety and intraoperative variables. Results A total of 305 patients were included ( RASC n = 188; RSHS n = 117). Twelve months follow‐up was available for 144 ( RASC 76.6%) and 109 ( RSHS 93.2%) women. Anatomical success of the apical compartment occurred for 91% ( RASC ) and in 99% ( RSHS ) of the women. In all compartments, the success percentages were 67 and 65%, respectively. Most recurrences were in the anterior compartment [15.7% RASC (symptomatic 12.1%); 22.9% RSHS (symptomatic 4.8%)]. Symptoms of bulge improved from 97.4 to 17.4% ( P < 0.0005). PFIQ ‐7 scores improved from 76.7 ± 62.3 to 13.5 ± 31.1 ( P < 0.0005). The duration of surgery increased significantly for RSHS [183.1 ± 38.2 versus 145.3 ± 29.8 ( P < 0.0005)]. Intraoperative complications and conversion rates were low ( RASC , 5.3 and 4.3%; RSHS , 0.0 and 0.0%). Four severe postoperative complications occurred after RASC (2.1%) and one occurred after RSHS (1.6%). Conclusions This is the largest reported prospective cohort study on robot‐assisted apical prolapse surgery. Both procedures are safe, with durable results. Tweetable abstract European bi‐centre trial concludes that robot‐assisted surgery is a viable approach to managing apical prolapse.