Robotic-assisted bariatric surgery: case series analysis and comparison with the laparoscopic approach.

ABSTRACT Objective: to report a series of cases of robotic bariatric surgery in the treatment of obesity in Brazil. Methods: we evaluated patients undergoing robotic bariatric surgery at the Garrido Institute and compared them with a group submitted to conventional laparoscopic surgery. Results: we analyzed 45 patients, with a mean age of 39.44 years, of which 34 were female, with an initial mean BMI of 41.26kg/m2. Among the procedures performed, 91.11% were Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, while 8.89% were sleeve gastrectomy. The mean total surgery time was 158 (±56.54) minutes, with mean docking time of 7.93 (±3.9) minutes, and console time 113.0 (±41.4) minutes. The average pain presented in the post anesthetic recovery was 2.61 (±3.30) points on a scale of 0 to 10; four patients presented with mild signs of nausea, responding well to drug treatment. Only one patient needed ICU admission for a period of two days after surgery due to previous cardiopathy. In two cases, there was an incisional hernia at the trocar site, which were surgically treated without further complications. In the comparison between robotic versus laparoscopic surgery groups, 45 patients were selected for each group. Operative time was significantly longer in the robotic surgery group, with most other variables being equivalent, including postoperative control of comorbidities. Conclusion: robotic bariatric surgery is a safe procedure, with results comparable to laparoscopic surgery.