“Cholecystectomy is the seventh most common operation in the United States, with 605,000 minimally invasive ambulatory, 280,000 minimally invasive inpatient, and 49,000 inpatient open procedures annually. It is ranked 10th of all principal operative procedures in aggregate annual cost ($4.3 billion). As such, managing the cost of cholecystectomy has the potential to impact health care finances. RC consistently has been shown to be more costly than LC. 5 Despite this, the percentage of RC in the United States has increased rapidly as the robotic platform becomes more accessible in hospitals, surgeon interest grows, and marketing has increased. Because third-party reimbursement is not dependent on the platform, additional costs burden hospitals and should be theoretically offset by improved patient outcomes or other indirect benefits.”

“In conclusion, this study analyzed costs associated with cholecystectomies, using data from our multihospital institutional database. The costs associated with cholecystectomy, one of the most common hospital procedures, will rapidly escalate due to increased utilization of the robotic platform. Collaboration and standardization among surgeons, hospitals, and industry is necessary to balance cost efficiency and high-quality patient care. This approach could drive meaningful improvements in clinical outcomes, benefiting the health care system and its sustainability.”

Dallal, Ramsey M et al. “Impact of the robotic platform and surgeon variation on cholecystectomy disposable costs-More is not better.” Surgery, 109332. 19 Mar. 2025 Full Text for Emory Users