Comparison of the efficacy of different models of KangDuo surgical robots and the da Vinci surgical robots in partial nephrectomy of RENAL score ≤9 tumors.

BACKGROUND: Robot-assisted partial nephrectomy (PN) is becoming increasingly popular for patients with localized T1 renal tumors, but its widespread adoption is limited by high costs. The domestically developed KangDuo robotic system has been introduced to address this issue; however, data comparing different models of the KangDuo system with the da Vinci system are lacking. This study aims to compare the safety and efficacy of different models of the KangDuo surgical robot system versus the da Vinci surgical robot in PN for tumors with a RENAL [radius (R), exophytic/endophytic (E), nearness to collecting system/sinus (N), anterior/posterior (A), and location relative to polar lines (L)] score ≤9. METHODS: This study collected clinical data from 124 patients who underwent PN at Peking University First Hospital, Miyun District, between January 2024 and December 2025. Among them, 63 patients underwent surgery with the KangDuo robot, including 52 patients with the KD-SR-1000 system and 11 patients with the KD-SR-2000 system. Meanwhile, 61 patients who underwent da Vinci robot-assisted surgery were selected as the control group, including 46 patients with the da Vinci Si system and 15 patients with the da Vinci Xi system. All surgeries were performed by experienced surgeons specializing in robotic urological surgery. Perioperative indicators such as console time, operative time, warm ischemia time, estimated intraoperative blood loss, and postoperative hospital stay were recorded. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences in baseline characteristics between the two groups. All patients successfully completed the surgery without conversion to open surgery or laparoscopic surgery. Compared with the da Vinci robot group, the KangDuo robot system group had significantly longer console time, operative time, and postoperative hospital stay. The estimated intraoperative blood loss in the KD-SR-1000 group was significantly higher than that in the da Vinci Si group. All postoperative surgical margins were negative. No significant differences were observed in other perioperative indicators. CONCLUSIONS: When performed by an experienced surgeon, the KangDuo surgical robot system was not shown to be inferior to the da Vinci system in key surgical outcomes, perioperative safety, and preliminary oncological results for PN procedures of RENAL score ≤9 Tumors. However, the KangDuo group had longer operative time, console time, and postoperative hospital stay.