Cost‐effectiveness and patient‐reported outcomes of combined versus isolated robotic rectal and pelvic organ prolapse repair: A multicentre prospective cohort study
Shannon L. Wallace, James W. Ogilvie, Liliana Bordeianou, Michelle Earley, Raisa Platte, Milena M. Weinstein, Eric R. Sokol, Ekene A. Enemchukwu, Kavita Mishra, Brooke H. GurlandAbstract
Aim
Rectal prolapse (RP) and pelvic organ prolapse (POP) frequently coexist, yet are often evaluated and treated separately. This study aimed to compare patient‐reported outcomes and cost‐effectiveness of combined versus isolated robotic prolapse repair.
Methods
We conducted a prospective multicentre cohort study across three tertiary pelvic floor centres. Women undergoing robotic rectal prolapse repair (rRP), robotic pelvic organ prolapse repair (rPOP) or combined robotic repair (rRP + rPOP) were included. Validated patient‐reported outcome measures were collected at baseline and 12 months. Health utility was derived from EQ‐5D‐3L and used to calculate quality‐adjusted life years (QALYs). A trial‐based cost‐effectiveness analysis was performed from the healthcare sector perspective. A theoretical cohort was modelled to examine staged versus combined repair in patients with multicompartment prolapse.
Results
Forty‐seven patients were included (rRP n = 14, rPOP n = 16, rRP + rPOP n = 17). All groups demonstrated significant improvement in pelvic floor symptoms and quality of life at 12 months. Improvements across bowel, bladder and prolapse‐related domains were greatest in the combined repair group. Health utility gains were observed in all cohorts. In patients with multicompartment prolapse, combined robotic repair was cost‐effective, whereas staged procedures were associated with higher cumulative costs without proportional gains in QALYs.
Conclusions
Within robotic prolapse surgery, combined rectal and pelvic organ prolapse repair provides the most comprehensive symptom improvement and represents a cost‐effective strategy when both compartments are symptomatic. These findings support systematic evaluation for multicompartment prolapse and multidisciplinary surgical planning.