U.S. urologic surgeons say they have successfully used robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery to repair abnormal openings between the bladder and vagina.

A team led by Dr. Ashok Hemal, a urologic surgeon from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, used the surgical procedure to repair the abnormal openings that are known as fistulas.

Reporting on their experience with seven patients, Hemal and colleagues said they recorded the world's largest known success with the procedure.

"There was less blood loss with this procedure than with conventional surgery and there is the potential for a faster recovery," said Hemal, director of the Robotic and Minimally Invasive Urologic Surgery Program at Wake Forest. "The results were outstanding and suggest the robot-assisted surgery is an attractive option for fistulas that would normally require abdominal surgery.

"Robot-assisted surgery has promise to bridge the limitations of laparoscopic surgery and allow more women with fistulas, urinary incontinence or prolapsed pelvic organs to benefit from a minimally invasive approach," he added.

The study that included Drs. Surendra Kolla and Penkaj Wadhwa, from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi appears online in the Journal of Urology and will be published in a future print issue.