Comparison of European regionwide and Japanese nationwide surveys on gynecologic robotic surgery

Gynecologic robotic surgery is increasingly adopted worldwide, and effective surgical education is essential for expanding training opportunities among early-career surgeons. Previously published surveys conducted by the Young European Advocates of Robotic Surgery (YEARS) and the Japan Society of Gynecologic Robotic Surgery (JSGRS) evaluated robotic surgery in Europe and Japan. This comparative analysis explored opportunities for international educational collaboration. This study was a secondary comparative analysis using two previously published survey datasets. The YEARS survey targeted early-career European gynecologists (< 4 years post-fellowship), whereas the JSGRS survey included Japanese obstetricians and gynecologists. Respondents within 12 years after graduation were selected from the JSGRS cohort. A total of 293 respondents were analyzed, including 81 respondents from 21 countries in the YEARS and 212 respondents from the JSGRS survey. The availability of robotic systems was comparable (77.8%vs 74.1% for YEARS and JSGRS, respectively), and interest in robotic surgery was also high in both groups (81.0% vs. 70.3%). Respondents in the YEARS survey reported substantially greater hands-on experience. While 66.7% performed robotic surgery weekly in the YEARS survey, only 3.8% of JSGRS respondents had experience with more than 51 robotic procedures annually. This difference was particularly evident among residents (26.7% vs. 0%). This exploratory comparative analysis suggests that Japanese respondents showed similar interest in robotic surgery to the YEARS cohort but had fewer opportunities for surgical experience. Future studies using standardized multinational surveys are warranted to better characterize regional differences and support the development of robotic surgery education.