摘要

Authors' objectives: Robotic-assisted surgery has been used in Ontario hospitals for over a decade, but there is no public funding for the robotic systems or the disposables required to perform robotic-assisted surgeries (“robotics disposables”). We conducted a health technology assessment of robotic-assisted partial nephrectomy for the treatment of kidney cancer (RAPN). Nephrectomy may be radical (the surgical removal of an entire kidney, nearby adrenal gland and lymph nodes, and other surrounding tissue) or partial (the surgical removal of part of a kidney or a kidney tumour). Partial nephrectomy is the gold standard surgical treatment for early kidney cancer. Our assessment included an evaluation of the effectiveness, safety, and cost-effectiveness of RAPN, as well as the 5-year budget impact for the Ontario Ministry of Health of publicly funding RAPN. It also looked at the experiences, preferences, and values of people with kidney cancer, as well as those of health care professionals who provide surgical treatment for kidney cancer.