Robot-assisted laparoscopic hysterectomy for early-stage endometrial cancer with massive uterine leiomyomas

Abstract

INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE: Compared to conventional laparoscopic surgery, robot-assisted surgery enables precise operation, with the aid of high-resolution 3D images and articulated forceps, even in cases where the uterus is very large. CASE PRESENTATION: A 48-year-old woman with severe obesity was referred to our hospital with atypical genital bleeding for half a year. She was diagnosed with multiple uterine leiomyomas and early endometrial cancer with presumed advanced stage classification (stage IA). Robot-assisted laparoscopic hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, and pelvic lymph node biopsy were performed. Due to the difficulty of removing the uterus transvaginally, the umbilical incision was extended by 7 cm, which allowed the uterine tissue removal without shredding or leakage into the pelvic cavity. The patient was discharged 5 days postoperatively, with no postoperative complications. CLINICAL DISCUSSION: Robot-assisted surgery has often been used for the management of early-stage endometrial cancer. Robot-assisted laparoscopic hysterectomy has significantly fewer intraoperative and postoperative complications than laparoscopic and abdominal hysterectomy. CONCLUSION: Improving this surgical procedure allows for safe and easy robot-assisted uterine malignant tumor removal even in cases where the patient presents with severe obesity and huge uterine leiomyomas.