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Review
. 2020 Feb;12(2):54-62.
doi: 10.21037/jtd.2019.06.75.

Robotic-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy: past, present and future

Gijsbert I van Boxel  1 , B Feike Kingma  1 , Frank J Voskens  1 , Jelle P Ruurda  1 , Richard van Hillegersberg  1
Affiliations
Review

Robotic-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy: past, present and future

Gijsbert I van Boxel et al. J Thorac Dis. 2020 Feb.

Abstract

Esophagectomy for cancer of the esophagus is increasingly performed using minimally invasive techniques. After the introduction of minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) in the early 1990's, robotic-assisted techniques followed after the turn of the millennium. The advent of robotic platforms has allowed the development of robotic-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy (RAMIE) over the past 15 years. Although recent trials have shown superior peri-operative morbidity and quality of life compared to open esophagectomy, no randomized trials have compared RAMIE to conventional MIE. This paper summarizes the current literature on RAMIE and provides an overview of expected future developments in robotic surgery.

Keywords: Esophageal cancer; minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE); robotic surgery; robotic-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy (RAMIE).

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: JP Ruurda, R van Hillegersberg are both proctors for Intuitive Surgical. The other authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Transected thoracic duct (white arrow). The distal, transected thoracic duct compartment (TDC) has been labelled.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Sparing of bronchial vagal branches (white arrows).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Sparing of left recurrent laryngeal nerve (yellow arrow) during dissection of thoracic lymph node stations 4 and 2.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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