Robot Surgery Isn’t First Choice for Uterus Removals

Robotic surgery for hysterectomies doesn’t improve outcomes and shouldn’t be the first choice for most women, a doctors’ group said, sending Intuitive Surgical Inc. to its lowest value in almost 14 months.

The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, which represents 56,000 U.S. physicians, said expertise with Intuitive’s da Vinci robot system is limited and surgeons learning the new technology may have higher rates of complications. Intuitive, based Sunnyvale, California, sells the only robotic system approved in the U.S. for soft tissue procedures that include gynecological surgery.