Robotic Gastrectomy for Gastric Cancer: Preliminary Results

Abstract

Purpose: To assess the feasibility of the da Vinci ® surgical system in performing gastrectomies for gastric cancer. Methods: Between 31 December 2007 and 30 June 2008, twenty patients underwent robotic gastrectomies using the da Vinci ® surgical system for gastric cancer. Retrospectively, clinicopathologic and postoperative surgical outcomes were retrieved from the Stomach Cancer Database at Dong-A University Medical Center. Results: Two patients with serosa invasion required conversion to laparotomy. Seventeen robotic distal gastrectomies and one robotic total gastrectomy were performed. Most patients underwent D1+β or D2 lymph node dissection. The average number of retrieved lymph nodes was 41. Mean operative time was 271 minutes. Estimated blood loss was 30 ml and mean postoperative hospital stay was 5.1 days. No postoperative complications were reported. Conclusion: While application of robotic technology for gastric cancer is technically feasible, problems of long operative times and extremely high costs remain. More randomized studies comparing long-term surgical outcomes between robotic, conventional open, and laparoscopic surgery are needed.