Patients' experience of robotic-assisted surgery: a qualitative study

Background: The use of robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) has increased considerably since its introduction in 2001, with RAS now being widely accepted as a surgical modality. Current literature surrounding RAS focuses on the surgical team's experience rather than the patient's perspective, with limited qualitative research on post-RAS patient experience. Aim: To explore patient-reported experience following RAS. Methods: Twelve semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted. Interviews were audio recorded with data transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis. Findings: Themes included: factors specific to the robotic modality and psychological factors. Participant concerns emanated from their experience of a lack of pre-operative preparation, resulting in feelings of anxiety and some negative perceptions of RAS. Conclusion: Given the limited time for patient preparation for RAS, work developing patient information that is also patient-led would be of benefit. Pre-operative preparation is a key nursing role’ and further research could explore nurses' experiences of preparing patients for RAS, facilitators and barriers to providing optimum patient preparation in this context.