Robotic Transversus Abdominis Release (RoboTAR) for Ventral Hernia Repairs

With the advent of robotic surgery, many procedures that were only possible via open approach have been adopted, modified, and built upon to be successfully utilized in minimally invasive surgery. The transversus abdominis release (TAR) is no exception to this. First described by Novitsky et al., this technique creates a large retromuscular space for prosthetic mesh to be placed. Novitsky originally described performing a TAR beginning in the mid-abdomen to expose the transversus abdominis muscle. In this chapter, we describe three different approaches to performing a robotic TAR (roboTAR): top-down, bottoms-up, and the Novitsky way. The pertinent anatomy that is crucial to understand when performing a roboTAR, preoperative evaluation, postoperative outcomes, and common pitfalls to avoid will also be discussed.