Robotic assisted (RA) total hip arthroplasty (THA) may provide improved precision and accuracy; however, contention remains on whether RA THA provides better patient outcomes than conventional THA. This study compares short-term clinical outcomes, complication rates, and operative times between these two groups.

We retrospectively reviewed charts for demographic data, comorbidities, operating time, revisions, and complications of patients who underwent RA and conventional THA. Patient-reported outcomes were collected via OBERD database at the following timepoints: preoperatively, 6-month, 1-year, and 2-year postoperatively. Descriptive statistics and mixed multivariate regression analyses were used to analyze data.

Two hundred ten patients were included (n=149 conventional, n=61 RA). Patients with RA THAs were younger than those with conventional THAs (59 years, IQR: 53-66 and 64 years, IQR: 58-71; P=.002). The operative time was longer for the RA compared to the conventional group (106 minutes, IQR: 92-120 and 92 minutes, IQR: 82-109, respectively, P=< .001). There was no statistically significant difference in SF-12 mental scores, SF-12 physical scores, or OHS between RA and conventional THA at different timepoints. Additionally, there was no statistically significant difference in complication and revision rates between the two groups.

Our findings demonstrated that there were no statistically significant differences in patient-reported outcomes between the RA versus conventional THA groups. Furthermore, our findings suggest a lack of significant differences in complication or revision rates. Surgeons performing robot-assisted surgeries for hip replacements can reasonably expect patient outcomes that are, at a minimum, as successful as the conventional counterparts.