Haaris Kadri, Rossana Maffei, Ryan Dang, Keith Hansen, Dor Yoeli, Marissa Di Napoli, Cassidy Yoshida, Ivan Rodriguez, Carlos Gonçalves, Shannon Lyons, Sixto Giusti, Terri Montague, James Cooper, Rashikh Choudhury, Kendra Conzen, Megan Adams, Kristin Mekeel, Peter Kennealey, Thomas Bak, Jesse D Schold, Trevor Nydam, Thomas Pshak, Phillipe Abreu
As RKT expands, benchmarking is crucial to ensure safety. In this analysis, outcomes were similar to OKT, highlighting that it is an appropriate alternative that should continue to be refined.
INTRODUCTION: Robotic kidney transplant (RKT) has been noted to be an alternative procedure compared to open kidney transplant (OKT). This study compares outcomes after RKT and OKT from one transplant center.
METHODS: This was a single-center propensity score-matched observational study, 11/2021-09/2025. A multivariable propensity model was developed including recipient age, obesity, time period, pre-transplant dialysis, diabetes, and donor type, and patients were matched 2:1 OKT:RKT. Matched patients were compared using weighted or Firth penalized regression.
RESULTS: Of 1004 kidney transplants, 103 (10.3%) were robotic. Through matching, the average standardized mean difference between covariates went from 0.456 to 0.118. Outcomes after matched RKTs and OKTs were similar, except lower rates of Clavien-Dindo II complications in RKTs (7.8% vs 18.4%, p = 0.013).
CONCLUSIONS: As RKT expands, benchmarking is crucial to ensure safety. In this analysis, outcomes were similar to OKT, highlighting that it is an appropriate alternative that should continue to be refined.