Gastrointestinal robotic surgery: challenges and developments

Figures & data

Figure 1 The setting of the da Vinci robotic system (A) during a right colon resection at the Careggi University Hospital; and the surgeon console (B).

Table 1 State of the art: the feasible approaches to gastrointestinal disease and the authors’ opinions regarding future developments

District	Open surgery	Laparoscopic surgery	Robotic
Esophagus	+	++	+++
Reflux disease	−	+++	+++
Stomach (proximal)	+	+	++
Stomach (distal)	+	++	+++
Liver (major resection)	+	−	++
Liver (minor resection)	+	++	+
Liver (posterolateral segments)	+	−	++
Gallbladder	−	+++	+
Biliary tree	+	++	++
Pancreas (head)	+	−	+++
Pancreas (body-tail)	+	++	++
Pancreas (body-tail	+	++	+++
spleen preserving) Small bowel	+	+	+
Colon	−	+++	++
Rectum	−	++	+++

Note: Currently, open surgery is considered the standard and has a + by default, except in cases of colorectal surgery, reflux disease, and cholecystectomy.