Initial Japanese Experience of Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy Using a New Robot-Assisted System

Abstract

The object of this paper is to clarify the feasibility and safety of robot-assisted laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Acute or chronic cholecystitis is the most common disease in patients, caused by cholecystolithiasis. Minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery is often performed for treatment of cholelithiasis. We performed robot-assisted laparoscopic cholecystectomy for the treatment of 5 patients with cholecystolithiasis. The patient underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy using the ViKY Endo-Control System (ViKY, EndoControl, Grenoble, France). The robot-controlled laparoscopic holder was placed at the right axilla. The laparoscopic operation was performed via conventional 4-port access using the ViKY system with voice activation. All patients were treated successfully by this robot-assisted laparoscopic procedure, without any complications. Mean docking time using the ViKY was 16 minutes, mean resection time of the gallbladder was 62.2 minutes, operative time was 94.6 minutes, and the mean amount of the blood loss was minimal. Our initial experience demonstrated that robot-assisted laparoscopy was feasible and safe in patients with cholecystolithiasis, providing patient advantages. We also discuss the advantages and disadvantages of robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery.