‘Robot surgery no better than regular operation’

Endoscopic surgeries and open surgeries are just as effective as robot surgeries but are much cheaper, the National Evidence-based Healthcare Collaborating Agency said Tuesday.

After its researchers surveyed 171 international and domestic papers, the institute concluded that robot surgery for prostate cancer had the survival rate, relapse rate and serious side effects as endoscopic or open surgeries. The team found, however, that robot surgery patients’ hospitalization period was much shorter than the other two.

The institute said there wasn’t significant evidence to conclude that robot surgery is better than conventional surgery in terms of cervical cancer operations, except for the fact that it involves less bleeding.

“We need more studies to prove that robotic surgery, which cost an average of 10 million won more than the other two, is more effective than the others,” Chin Chae-min, a researcher at the institute, said.

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