Robotic Surgical Approach Safe, Feasible for Gallbladder Cancer

WEDNESDAY, March 20, 2024 (HealthDay News) — For patients undergoing gallbladder cancer surgery, robotic-assisted surgery has comparable oncological outcomes to open surgery, according to a review published online Feb. 27 in the American Journal of Surgery.

Sebastian Mellado, from the Boston University School of Medicine, and colleagues conducted a systematic review of the literature to compare patient outcomes following robotic, open, and laparoscopic surgeries for treatment of gallbladder cancer. Five studies with 353 patients and published between 2019 and 2023 were identified and reviewed. All studies compared robotic to open surgery: 36.5 and 63.5 percent of the patients underwent robotic and open surgery, respectively.

According to the researchers, the robotic-assisted approach is a safe and feasible option for patients with gallbladder cancer. Robotic-assisted surgery was found to be comparable to open surgery in terms of oncological outcomes, with potential advantages seen in terms of revision and postoperative recovery.

“Our study demonstrates the viability of robotic surgery for gallbladder cancer treatment, a field where minimally invasive approaches have been cautiously adopted due to concerns over oncologic efficacy and technical challenges,” coauthor Eduardo Vega, M.D., also from the Boston University School of Medicine, said in a statement.

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