Robotic versus Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy: Length of Stay and Readmission.

Abstract

Background: Laparoscopy has long been the standard minimally invasive approach for gallbladder removal. Proponents suggest robotic surgery may improve outcomes such as readmission rates and length of stay.

Methods: A systematic review of the literature was conducted using articles from PubMed, EBSCO: Medline, and Cochrane databases. Peer-reviewed studies published between January 2015 and November 10, 2025, were included if they directly compared robotic cholecystectomy (RC) and laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) outcomes in adult patients.

Results: Nineteen studies were included, consisting primarily of retrospective cohort studies, along with prospective cohort studies, ambispective cohort studies, and one randomized controlled trial. The age and sex distributions of patients were similar between the RC and LC groups. Most studies reported no statistically significant difference in length of stay or readmission rates between groups. One larger multicenter study demonstrated significantly lower readmission rates and a modest reduction in length of stay favoring RC; however, these findings were not consistently observed across the remaining studies.

Conclusion: RC appears to offer similar short-term postoperative outcomes compared with LC with only one multicenter study reporting modest improvements favoring RC. Further high-quality studies are needed to determine whether robotic approaches provide clinically meaningful benefits.