Presentation (CTI)

OBJECTIVES: Robot-assisted surgery (RAS) was introduced in Korea in 2005. Despite its widespread adoption and increasing clinical publications, economic evaluations remain scarce. This study conducts a bibliometric analysis of cost and cost-effectiveness studies in Korea to assess the current economic evidence on RAS.
METHODS: A literature search was conducted in PubMed to identify studies reporting the cost or cost-effectiveness of RAS. The search strategy included the following terms: (cost* OR economic* OR financial* OR pric* OR charge* OR billing*) AND (Korea) AND ("robot surgery" OR "robot-assisted*" OR "robotic surgery" OR "robotic-assisted*"). Studies reporting actual cost estimates using original data from human subjects were included in the study.
RESULTS: A total of 237 publications were identified, of which 17 met the inclusion criteria for final review. Sixteen of the 17 studies reported costs incurred during hospitalization, and 82% (n=14/17) based on data from a single institution. The highest number of studies focused on colorectal surgery (n=5), followed by hysterectomy (n=2) and gastrectomy (n=2). The reported cost of RAS hospitalization ranged from USD 6,762 to 20,206, compared to USD 3,038 to 11,933 for laparoscopic or endoscopic surgery and USD 1,706 to 9,009 for open surgery. The cost of RAS hospitalization was 1.1 to 2.1 times higher than that of laparoscopic surgery and 1.4 to 4.0 times higher than that of open surgery. Clinical outcomes such as complications, length of stay, and survival rates were comparable between the groups, but RAS showed better performance in nerve-sparing, lymph node dissection, and functional outcomes.
CONCLUSIONS: No full economic evaluations, such as cost-effectiveness or cost-utility analyses using decision trees or Markov models, were identified in Korea. Further cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analyses, incorporating long-term outcomes, are needed to provide a comprehensive evaluation.