J Robot Surg. 2026 Jun 19;20(1):604. doi: 10.1007/s11701-026-03572-6.
ABSTRACT
Robot-assisted peritoneal flap vaginoplasty has emerged as an evolving reconstructive option in gender-affirming genital surgery. This systematic review and single-arm meta-analysis aimed to synthesize the available evidence regarding its perioperative, functional canal, and postoperative safety outcomes. This study was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines and prospectively registered in PROSPERO. PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, and Web of Science were searched from database inception to May 2026. Eligible studies included transfeminine or gender-diverse individuals undergoing robot-assisted peritoneal flap-based vaginoplasty with extractable clinical outcomes. Continuous outcomes were synthesized as weighted mean estimates with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), and overall postoperative complications were pooled using Stata version 18.0. Heterogeneity was assessed using the I² statistic, and leave-one-out sensitivity analyses were performed. Ten studies involving 974 patients were included. The pooled mean operative time was 305.37 min (95% CI 244.62, 366.12), and the pooled length of hospital stay was 5.80 days (95% CI 4.72, 6.87). At the last available follow-up, pooled neovaginal depth was 13.41 cm (95% CI 12.86, 13.96), and pooled neovaginal width was 3.61 cm (95% CI 3.55, 3.67). The pooled overall postoperative complication rate was approximately 30.1%. Sensitivity analyses suggested that the pooled estimates were not driven by any single study. Robot-assisted peritoneal flap vaginoplasty appears feasible and may achieve neovaginal dimensions broadly comparable to those reported for other full-depth vaginoplasty approaches. However, predominantly retrospective single-arm evidence precludes conclusions regarding superiority and highlights the need for standardized prospective studies with longer follow-up and patient-reported outcomes.
PMID:42319579 | DOI:10.1007/s11701-026-03572-6
