Abstract
Background: Since its approval, robotic surgery has been growing as a useful, promising and probably superior technique for many surgeries. The aim of this study is to expose and evaluate the results of a 6-year experience, of a single surgeon, with robotic assisted surgery, used for different gastrointestinal procedures throughout this years. Study Design: We conducted a retrospective revision of all consecutive robotic assisted gastrointestinal cases performed by a single gastrointestinal laparoscopic surgeon of the Bariatric Surgery Department and Robotics Surgery Department of Clínica Santa María of Santiago, Chile, between September 2011 and May 2017. Results: A total of 290 patients underwent robotic gastrointestinal surgery during 6 years. All cases were performed by the same gastrointestinal surgeon. Primary procedures performed were totally hand sewn Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy, revisional bariatric and non-bariatric surgery, Nissen fundoplication, single port cholecystectomy, Heller myotomy with Dor fundoplication, hernia repairs, and other exceptional cases. A total of 512 procedures were performed in 290 patients. The majority of secondary procedures were cholecystectomies, hiatal hernia repairs and adhesiolysis. Average length of hospital stay was 3 days. Postoperative complications were observed in 27 (9.3%) patients. According to Clavien Dindo classification of surgical complications, 4 (1.4%) complications were Clavien I, 5 (1.7%) Clavien II, 18 (6.2%) Clavien III, 0 Clavien IV, 0 Clavien V. There were no deaths in this group. Mean operative time was 76 minutes. Mean surgical time was 64 minutes. Conclusion: Robot assisted upper gastrointestinal surgery is a reliable and effective technique, that can be used in many diseases.
