Virtual postoperative visits following robotic gynecologic surgery: a study of patient satisfaction, safety, and feasibility

Abstract

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic the use of telehealth has burgeoned. Numerous surgical specialties have already adopted the use of virtual postoperative visits, but there is data lacking in both robotics and gynecology. In this single-institution prospective cohort study we sought to evaluate the patient satisfaction, feasibility and safety of postoperative telehealth visits following robotic gynecologic surgery. Thirty-three patients undergoing robotic gynecologic procedures participated in a postoperative telehealth visit approximately 2 weeks following surgery, of which 27 completed a survey which assessed participant satisfaction with the telehealth visit, overall health-related quality of life following surgery, exposure to telehealth visits, and social determinants of health. The mean satisfaction score was just below ‘excellent’. Only 2 participants (6.3%) required an in-person visit. Postoperative telehealth visit satisfaction score was significantly associated only with BMI (Pearson r = 0.45, p = 0.018). These data suggest that telehealth visits following robotic gynecologic procedures appear to be safe and feasible, and are associated with a high level of patient satisfaction. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11701-021-01354-w.

Perioperative visits in minimally invasive gynecologic surgery

“…With the widespread adoption of telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic, some minimally invasive gynecologic surgeons transitioned postoperative visits to telemedicine [22]. A prospective cohort study of 33 patients who had robotic gynecologic surgeries showed high patient satisfaction with a 2-week postoperative video virtual visit rather than an office visit [23 ▪ ]. Although the study was not powered to assess broad feasibility or safety, only two patients required an in-person visit for complications.…”