Robotic versus conventional laparoscopic gastrectomy for gastric cancer: A retrospective cohort study

Robot-assisted gastrectomy (RAG), as an alternative minimally invasive surgical technique, is gradually being used for the treatment of gastric cancer (GC). This study aimed to assess the feasibility and safety of RAG over conventional Laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy (LAG) for the treatment of GC. We retrospectively analyzed all procedures (RAG and LAG) performed by one surgeon between 31 January 2017 and 1 December 2017. The short-term of surgical outcomes were compared between two groups and further subgroup analyses were performed. One hundred patients were enrolled in the RAG group and 135 in the LAG group. The demograghics and clinicopathologic characteristics are well matched between two groups. The RAG group had shorter postoperative hospital stay (11 (interquartile range 9–13) vs. 12 (10–14) day; p