Short-Term Surgical Outcomes and Experience with 925 Patients Undergoing Robotic Cholecystectomy During A 4-Year Period At A Single Institution

Abstract

Background/aims: Robotic cholecystectomy has emerged as an established technique for the treatment of gallbladder disease. We report our experience and surgical results of RC for patients with gallbladder polyps or minimal symptomatic gallstones, and with inflamed gallbladder diseases including acute cholecystitis, empyematous cholecystitis, and gangrenous cholecystitis.

Methodology: 925 patients with gallbladder disease were selected to undergo RC at our institution. All procedures were performed using the da Vinci system. No technical difficulty in RC was experienced. Use these advantages, we performed cholecystectomy by placing the trocars transversally on the bikini line('Panty line', 'Bikini line').

Results: From June 2010 to May 2014, 925 gallbladder disease patients underwent RC on the bikini line. Excluding the effects of BMI produced no correlation between operating time and white blood cell count (r = 0.062, p = 0.058). Surgical complications occurred in nine of the 925 patients (0.1%), including cystic duct leakage (n = 4), bleeding (n = 3), common bile duct injury (n = 1), and bladder injury (n = 1). Conversion to open cholecystectomy occurred in one patient due to common bile duct injury (0.01%).

Conclusion: RC is technically an easy to learn, safe method of patients with gallbladder disease, regardless of BMI. In addition, RC can be a treatment for patients with acute inflammation in gallbladder disease.