American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
View all recommendations from this societyReleased March 14, 2016; updated August 24, 2016
Avoid using robotic assisted laparoscopic surgery for benign gynecologic disease when it is feasible to use a conventional laparoscopic or vaginal approach.
Robotic-assisted and conventional laparoscopic techniques are comparable with respect to perioperative outcomes, intraoperative complications, length of hospital stay and rate of conversion to open surgery. However, evidence shows that robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery has similar or longer operating times and higher associated costs.
These items are provided solely for informational purposes and are not intended as a substitute for consultation with a medical professional. Patients with any specific questions about the items on this list or their individual situation should consult their physician.
How The List Was Created
As a national medical specialty society, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists relies on the input of any number of its committees in the development of various documents. In the case of the items submitted for the Choosing Wisely® campaign, input from the following committees was solicited: the Committees on Patient Safety and Quality Improvement; Obstetric Practice; and Gynecologic Practice. A literature search was conducted related to the initial list of approximately ten items. We then sent this list to the College’s Executive Board and asked them to select five of the items based on their potential to improve quality and reduce cost. We explained to them that the items were written to avoid complex or clinical terminology, but not at the risk of reducing the value and credibility of the recommendations made. In the case of the first two items on our list – “Don’t schedule elective, non-medically indicated inductions of labor or Cesarean deliveries before 39 weeks 0 days gestational age” and “Don’t schedule elective, non-medically indicated inductions of labor between 39 weeks 0 days and 41 weeks 0 days unless the cervix is deemed favorable” – we collaborated with the American Academy of Family Physicians in developing the final language. A list of the second set of “five items” was selected by the Committee on Patient Safety and Quality Improvement before submission to the College’s Executive Board for approval. Any comments received from the Executive Board were incorporated into the final list that was approved.
The College’s disclosure and conflict of interest policy can be found at www.acog.org.
Sources
Liu H, Lawrie TA, Lu DH, Song H, Wang L, Shi G. Robot-assisted surgery in gynaecology. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2014, Dec 10;12: CD011422.
AAGL position statement: Robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery in benign gynecology. AAGL Advancing Minimally Invasive Gynecology Worldwide. J Minim Invasive Gynecol. 2013 Jan-Feb;20(1):2-9.
