Comparison of complications of robot-assisted laparoscopic and open appendicovesicostomy in children

Purpose Robot-assisted laparoscopic appendicovesicostomy in children has become increasingly popular. However, the literature on this technique mainly consists of small case series with only 1 small comparison to an open cohort. We compared the number of complications and surgical revisions required with open and robotic surgery in children undergoing appendicovesicostomy at our institution. Materials and Methods We retrospectively reviewed the charts of all patients who underwent appendicovesicostomy by 3 surgeons between July 2002 and September 2013. Acute complications and surgical revisions were recorded and compared between groups with t-tests for continuous variables and Fisher exact test for categorical variables. Results A total of 28 open and 39 robotic appendicovesicostomies were included. At a mean followup of 2.7 years there was no difference in number of complications or reoperations (p = 0.788 and p = 0.791, respectively) between groups. Time to first reoperation was shorter in the robotic group. However, there was no significant difference between groups regarding number of patients who underwent reoperation within the first 12 months postoperatively (p = 0.346). Conclusions Comparison of robotic and open appendicovesicostomy revealed no significant difference in the number of acute complications or reoperations between groups. However, the nature and timing of complications differed between groups.