Robotic-assisted Swenson procedure for Hirschsprung's disease with a median age of 35 days: a single-center retrospective study

PurposeThe treatment of Hirschsprung's disease (HD) in infants with the robotic-assisted Swenson procedure has been rarely reported. In this investigation, we aimed to explore the safety and the efficacy of robotic-assisted Swenson procedure for the HD in infants.MethodsFrom November 2022 to July 2023, 17 cases of HD were treated with the Da Vinci robotic Xi surgical system using a three-port approach. Preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative data were collected and compared with 43 cases of HD treated with laparoscopy by the same lead surgeon.ResultsThe robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) group included 17 infants, and the laparoscopic surgery (LS) group included 43 infants, with a median surgical age of 35 days for both groups. There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in terms of surgical age, gender, preoperative weight, preoperative hospital stay, preoperative enema time, and incidence of preoperative enterocolitis. Estimated intraoperative blood loss and transfusion rate in the RAS group were both lower than in the LS group, with statistically significant differences. There were no statistically significant differences in early and midterm postoperative complications (anastomotic leaks, anastomotic strictures, enterocolitis, etc.) between the two groups.ConclusionThis study demonstrates the efficacy and the safety of robotic-assisted Swenson procedure in infants.