Robotic Sleeve Gastrectomy

Abstract

With the increasing worldwide prevalence of obesity, bariatric surgery is in continuous development; actually, surgery represents the most effective long-term method for treating obesity and its comorbidities. However, surgery in patients with obesity may be technically demanding for the surgeon, due to the limitations of laparoscopic instruments and the characteristics of obese patients, including hepatomegaly and the amount of intraabdominal fat. This is why, over the years, methods of minimal invasion have been designed that replace conventional surgery and have the well-known benefits of minimal invasion, such as less postoperative pain, decreased in-hospital stay, and decreased morbidity of the patient (Nguyen et al., The ASMBS textbook of bariatric surgery. New York: Springer, 2015).

Sleeve gastrectomy was initially used as an initial step in high-risk patients, those who have BMI greater than 60; at follow-up these patients had a significant weight loss and resolution of comorbidities, but it was not until 2008 that the indications of the sleeve gastrectomy were published as a single procedure (Nguyen et al., The ASMBS textbook of bariatric surgery. New York: Springer, 2015).