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Review
. 2022 Feb 28;4(1):21-25.
doi: 10.35772/ghm.2021.01077.

The current status of robotic surgery for endometrial cancer in Japan

Tomoko Gota  1 , Kensuke Tomio  1 , Taichi Kurose  1 , Risa Saito  1 , Ryoken Nara  1 , Sohmi Kin  1 , Minami Hoshiba  1 , Yuri Ogata  1 , Misao Nakanishi  1 , Maya Takamoto  1 , Miyuki Sadatsuki  1 , Hajime Oishi  1
Affiliations
Review

The current status of robotic surgery for endometrial cancer in Japan

Tomoko Gota et al. Glob Health Med. .

Abstract

The da Vinci® surgical system (Intuitive Surgical Inc., Sunnyvale, CA, USA) was approved in 2009 by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare. In gynecology, robotic surgery for hysterectomy for benign indications and early-stage endometrial cancer has been covered by National Health Insurance since 2018. In a context where the da Vinci surgical system has prevailed in urology departments in Japan, gynecological robotic surgery has spread rapidly once it was covered by insurance. Although minimally invasive gynecologic surgery (minimally invasive surgery, or MIS) in Japan has a specific context, there are several problems with its safety, surgeon education, and cost in Japan. To maximize the many advantages of robotic surgery, its effectiveness needs to be carefully evaluated and this new technology needs to be safely incorporated in practice.

Keywords: endometrial cancer; minimally invasive surgery; robotic surgery.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
The number of laparoscopic surgeries for endometrial cancer in Japan. Data adapted from ().
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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