A paradigm shift in Diastasis Recti surgery: The Bikini-line robotic approach

ABSTRACT Introduction: diastasis recti surgery has been known worldwide for open surgical techniques involving significant tissue manipulation, skin flap and larger incisions. Traditional methods typically required extended recovery times and posed higher risks of complications and scarring issues. The advent of robotic-assisted surgery has revolutionized the treatment paradigm for abdominal wall defects and its remarkable outcomes encouraged expanding its applications towards diastasis recti pathologies. Better visualization and more ergonomic instruments foster a minimal scarring procedure, allowing surgeons to improve aesthetic and recovery outcomes following diastasis recti correction in a posterior approach. This article describes a robotic surgical technique and results to an unprecedented approach, putting its form of treatment into another perspective. Technical Report: a step-by-step guided technique of this novel technique is described using detailed port placement and figures to assure optimal aesthetic and functional outcomes whenever acting in minimally invasive diastasis recti repair with the da Vinci platform. Conclusion: The described technique reveals a hidden minimal incisions procedure avoiding skin flaps, scarring issues, and minimizing wound morbidity. Through a step-by-step guide, this report establishes an unprecedent technique description transforming the diastasis recti surgery scenario and its aesthetic outcomes with a safe minimally invasive surgery.