Robotic Approach to Abdominal Wall Reconstruction Decreases Total Post-Operative Opioid Exposure, but Not Daily Opioid Use, Compared to Open Approach: The Retrospective Ventral Hernia Repair and Post-Operative Opioid Use (Retro-Hero) Study

Abstract Background Many surgical specialties have shown a significant reduction in post-operative opioid use with adoption of the robotic platform. This has not been shown in General Surgery or in ventral hernia repairs. We compared post-operative opioid usage after open and robotic-assisted abdominal wall reconstruction (oAWR, rAWR). Method This is a retrospective cohort analysis of all patients with ventral hernias ranging between 5 to 15 cm who underwent either oAWR or rAWR between 01/2020 to 11/2022. Patient characteristics, surgery and length of hospital stay (LOS) information, post-operative opioid usage, and patient-reported pain scores were reviewed. Results 74 patients undergoing oAWR and 27 after rAWR in the study period met inclusion criteria. There was no difference in age, sex distribution, BMI, comorbidities, size, and hernia characteristic between the two groups. Median LOS was significantly longer for open repairs (5 (4–6) days vs. 2 (2–3) days, p 0.05). Median total in-hospital opioid use measured in mg Oral Morphine Equivalent (OME) and was significantly higher for open repairs (71.25(15–159) vs. 7.5 (0–60), p 0.05). However, there was no difference in daily opioid use, multimodal pain control, or total discharge opioid prescription. Multivariable logistic regression analysis indicates lower age is a significant contributor to high opioid use (OR = 0.95 (0.9–0.99), p =0.02) but the use of the robot platform was not (OR = 1.7 (0.56–4.95), p = 0.88). Conclusion oAWR patients had higher total post-operative opioid exposure but there is no difference in daily opioid use. Future studies should explore the potential of the robotic approach at minimizing opioids by way of standardized multimodal pain management protocols.