Robotic-assisted single-incision gastric mobilization for minimally invasive oesophagectomy for oesophageal cancer: preliminary results.

OBJECTIVES With the gradual acceptance of robotic-assisted surgery to treat oesophageal cancer and the application of a single-port approach in several abdominal procedures, we adopted a single-port technique in robotic-assisted minimally invasive oesophagectomy during the abdominal phase for gastric mobilization and abdominal lymph node dissection. METHODS Robotic-assisted oesophagectomy and mediastinal lymph node dissection in the chest were followed by robotic-assisted gastric mobilization and conduit creation with abdominal lymph node dissection, which were performed via a periumbilicus single incision. The oesophagogastrostomy was accomplished either in the chest (Ivor Lewis procedure) or neck (McKeown procedure) depending on the status of the proximal resection margin. RESULTS The procedure was successfully performed on 11 patients with oesophageal cancer from January 2017 to December 2018 in our institute. No surgical or in-hospital deaths occurred, though we had one case each of anastomotic leakage, pneumonia and hiatal hernia (9%). CONCLUSIONS Robotic single-incision gastric mobilization for minimally invasive oesophagectomy for treating oesophageal cancer seems feasible. Its value in terms of perioperative outcome and long-term survival results awaits future evaluation.