Comparison of health-related quality of life of women undergoing robotic surgery, laparoscopic surgery or laparotomy for gynecologic conditions: A cross-sectional study.

Objective: To assess and compare the health-related quality of life of women undergoing robotic gynecologic surgery, laparoscopic gynecologic surgery or laparotomy for benign and cancerous conditions.

Methods: Cross-sectional study design was used. The present study was carried out with 240 women, who underwent gynecologic surgery (robotic 48, laparoscopic 96, and laparotomy 96) in a tertiary care hospital. Instruments included a participant description questionnaire and Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36. The data were collected 4 weeks after surgery, at the first postoperative visit of women to the clinic. Pearson χ test, one-way analysis of variance, and regression analysis were used to assess the data.

Results: Over half of the women in each group had surgery because of gynecologic cancer. All the subscale scores of Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 were significantly higher in the robotic group than the other surgical groups (P < 0.05). Women in the robotic group had better quality of life in terms of both the physical component and the mental component after surgery.

Conclusions: Knowledge of health-related quality of life in the recovery period after surgery is important for healthcare providers to provide adequate preventive measures, information, and follow up.