Initial experience of robotic-assisted cholecystectomy in a tertiary care teaching hospital

Background: Robotic surgery was designed to overcome some of the major limitations of laparoscopy in terms of visibility, dexterity and precision. However, its potential limitations include high costs and low tactile feedback. at a tertiary care teaching hospital. Methods: In this retrospective study, we assessed the safety and feasibility of robotic-assisted cholecystectomy using the Versius Surgical Robot System® at our tertiary care teaching hospital between 2 September 2021 and 22 August 2022. Results: Of the 30 patients studied, 11 were males. The mean body mass index of the patients was 25.7. Intraoperative complications were noted in one case (haemorrhage from the liver bed) and conversion to laparoscopic surgery was noted in the same case. The median docking time was 16 min and the median console time was 72 min. No post-operative complications were noted. Both docking time and console time significantly decreased throughout this study. Conclusions: This study shows that the robotic-assisted cholecystectomy is a promising, safe and feasible alternative to traditional laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Keywords: Cholecystectomy, console time, robotic surgery