Patients shouldn't believe much of what they read about robotic surgery on hospital websites, says a team of researchers at Johns Hopkins University.
Researchers found that many hospitals make wholesale use of material provided by manufacturers and overstate the benefits of robotic surgery by touting such unsubstantiated claims as clinical superiority to more conventional surgeries and better cancer outcomes, according to a study in the Journal for Healthcare Quality.
The fact is that there are no randomized, controlled studies showing any benefit of robotic surgery to patients, says Marty Makary, MD, MPH, FAC, an associate professor of surgery at the University's School of Medicine. To the contrary, Dr. Makary says robotic surgeries take more time, keep patients under anesthesia longer and are more costly.
Of the 400 randomly selected U.S. hospital websites that Dr. Makary and his team analyzed in June 2010, 41% described robotic surgery. Of these, 37% presented robotic surgery on their homepage, 73% used manufacturer-provided stock images or text and 33% linked to a manufacturer website. Statements of clinical superiority were made on 86% of websites, the most common being less pain (85%), shorter recovery (86%), less scarring (80%) and less blood loss (78%). Thirty-two percent made a statement of improved cancer outcome. No hospital website mentioned risks.
Dr. Makary calls the practice "dishonest and it's misleading."
Proponents of robotic surgery say it leads to smaller incisions, is more precise and results in less pain and shorter hospital stays.
Dan O'Connor
