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. 2025 Oct 14;29(1):299.
doi: 10.1007/s10029-025-03479-5.

Robot ventral hernia repair in class II-IV obesity: early and mid-term results

Jevgenia Zilberman-Rudenko  1 , Jeffrey Watkins  2 , Daniel Tseng  2 , Sabrina Drexel  3
Affiliations

Robot ventral hernia repair in class II-IV obesity: early and mid-term results

Jevgenia Zilberman-Rudenko et al. Hernia. .

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study was to show efficacy of robot-assisted surgery in obese patient populations deemed high risk for ventral hernia repair (VHR).

Methods: A retrospective study looked at post-operative outcomes in obese patient populations (Class II, II, and IV) after robot-assisted VHR. Early and mid-term outcomes were reviewed and analyzed.

Results: Except for the older age of Class II obese patients compared to the Class III group, the three groups had comparable clinical factors, previous repairs, hernia defect size, and case complexity. Neither group had significant early complications outside of expected seromas, which did not require interventions. Class IV patients tended to remain in hospital longer as compared to Class II and III (1.7 ± 0.4 vs. 0.5 ± 0.2 and 0.5 ± 0.1 days). There were no clinically reported hernia recurrences by patients, and no hernias seen on incidental CT imaging during the follow-up period.

Conclusion: Robot-assisted ventral hernia repair in obese patients is feasible and equally durable even in Class III and Class IV. Further prospective studies are needed in order to implement a holistic approach to hernia care in obese patients.

Keywords: Hernia optimization; Incisional hernia repair; Obesity; Robotic ventral hernia repair.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Competing interests: None of the authors have financial or non-financial interests that are directly or indirectly related to the work submitted for publication.

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