Early experience in robotic-assisted laparoscopic bilateral intravesical ureteral reimplantation for vesicoureteral reflux in children

A high success rate has been reported for laparoscopic intravesical ureteral reimplantation in the management of high-grade vesicoureteral reflux in children. With the introduction of the da Vinci robotic surgical system (Intuitive Surgical, Sunnyvale, CA, USA), robotic-assisted laparoscopic intravesical ureteral reimplantation may provide additional benefits, particularly in intravesical suturing. We present here our experience in three children, all with high-grade bilateral vesicoureteral reflux, who underwent robotic-assisted laparoscopic intravesical bilateral ureteral reimplantation. The procedure was successfully performed in all cases. There were no intra-operative or post-operative complications. Operative times were 430, 240 and 220 min. Hospital stay was 7, 6 and 2 days. Postoperative voiding cystourethrogram confirmed resolution of vesicoureteral refluxes in all cases and all three children were free from urinary tract infections on follow-up. Our initial experience with robotic-assisted laparoscopic intravesical ureteral reimplantation has shown this to be a technically safe and feasible option in the management of children with bilateral high-grade vesicoureteric reflux.