Background and purpose: Previous reports have suggested that a 2% to 5% device failure rate (FR) be quoted when counseling patients about robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RLRP). We sought to evaluate our FR on the da Vinci system.
Patients and methods: Since February 2003, more than 800 RLRPs have been performed at our institution using a single three-armed robotic unit. A prospective database was analyzed to determine the device FR and whether it resulted in case abortion or open conversion. Intuitive Surgical Systems provided data concerning the system's performance, including its fault rate. Error messages were classified as recoverable and non-recoverable faults.
Results: Between February 2003 and November 2006, 725 RLRP cases were available for evaluation. There were no intraoperative device failures that resulted in a case conversion. Technical errors resulting in surgeon handicap occurred in 3 cases (0.4%). Four patients (0.5%) had their procedures aborted secondary to system failure at initial set-up prior to patient entrance to the operating room. Data analysis retrieved from the da Vinci console reported on a total of 807 procedures since 2003. Only 4 cases (0.4%) were reported from the Intuitive Surgical database to result in either an aborted or a converted case, which compares favorably with our results. Since the last computer system upgrade (September 2005), the mean recoverable and non-recoverable fault rates per procedure were 0.21 and 0.05, respectively.
Conclusions: For all the advanced features the da Vinci system offers, it is surprisingly reliable. Throughout our RLRP experience, device failure resulted in case conversion, procedure abortion, and surgeon handicap in 0, 0.5%, and 0.4% of procedures, respectively. As such, a lowered device FR of 0.5% should be used when counseling patients undergoing RLRP. To avoid futile general anesthesia, a policy should be enforced to ensure that the da Vinci system is completely set up before the patient enters the operating room.