J Korean Surg Soc JKSS Journal of the Korean Surgical Society 1226-0053 The Korean Surgical Society 10.4174/jkss.2009.76.5.301 Original Article Robotic Gastrectomy for Gastric Cancer: Preliminary Results Heo Geon-Ung M.D. Kim Min-Chan M.D. Jung Ghap-Joong M.D. Choi Seok Reyol M.D. 1 Department of Surgery, Dong-A University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea. Department of Internal Medicine, Dong-A University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea. mckim@donga.ac.kr 05 2009 07 05 2009 76 5 301 306 26 11 2008 28 01 2009 Copyright © 2009 The Korean Surgical Society 2009 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.

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Arrangement of the operating room and robot.

The locations of port in robotic gastrectomy. (A) Camera port, (B) Assist port, (C) First arm, (D) Second arm, (E) Third arm.

Operation time of each patient.

Photograph of da Vinci® surgical system. (A) Surgeon console, (B) Surgical cart, (C) Vision cart.

Clinicopathologic characteristics of patients

Values are mean±standard deviation.

Postoperative outcomes

Values are mean±standard deviation.