Evaluation of a new robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgical system for procedures in small cavities.
Robert Bergholz, Sanne Botden, Johannes Verweij, Stefaan Tytgat, Wim Van Gemert, Michael Boettcher, Heiko Ehlert, Konrad Reinshagen, Stefano Gidaro
Author Information
Robert Bergholz: Department of Pediatric Surgery, UKE Children's Hospital, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), Campus Ost 45, Room: 01.5.050.1, Martinistrasse 52, Postbox 37, 20246, Hamburg, Germany. robert@bergholz-berlin.de. ORCID
Sanne Botden: Department of Pediatric Surgery, Radboudumc-Amalia Children's Hospital, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Johannes Verweij: Department of Pediatric Surgery, Wilhemina Children's Hospital, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Stefaan Tytgat: Department of Pediatric Surgery, Wilhemina Children's Hospital, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Wim Van Gemert: Department of Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Maastricht, University of Maastricht, P. Debyelaan 25, 6229HX, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Michael Boettcher: Department of Pediatric Surgery, UKE Children's Hospital, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), Campus Ost 45, Room: 01.5.050.1, Martinistrasse 52, Postbox 37, 20246, Hamburg, Germany.
Heiko Ehlert: Central OR Management for General and Hepatobiliary Surgery, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany.
Konrad Reinshagen: Department of Pediatric Surgery, UKE Children's Hospital, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), Campus Ost 45, Room: 01.5.050.1, Martinistrasse 52, Postbox 37, 20246, Hamburg, Germany.
Stefano Gidaro: Department of Medical, Oral and Biotechnological Sciences, University G. D'Annunzio, Chieti-Pescara, Italy.
No data exists concerning the application of a new robotic system with 3-mm instruments (Senhance™, Transenterix, Milano, Italy) in small cavities. Therefore, the aim of this study was to test the system for its performance of intracorporal suturing in small boxes simulating small body cavities. Translucent plastic boxes of decreasing volumes (2519-90 ml) were used. The procedures (two single stitches, each with two consecutive surgical square knots) were performed by a system-experienced and three system-inexperienced surgeons in each box, starting within the largest box, consecutively exchanging the boxes into smaller ones. With this approach, the total amount of procedures performed by each surgeon increased with decreasing volume of boxes being operated in. Outcomes included port placement, time, task completion, internal and external instrument/instrument collisions and instrument/box collisions. The procedures could be performed in all boxes. The operating time decreased gradually in the first three boxes (2519-853 ml), demonstrating a learning curve. The increase of operating time from boxes of 599 ml and lower may be attributed to the increased complexity of the procedure in small cavities as in the smallest box with the dimensions of 2.9 × 6.3 × 4.9 cm. This is also reflected by the parallel increase of internal instrument-instrument collisions. With the introduction of 3-mm instruments in a new robotic surgical system, we were able to perform intracorporal suturing and knot tying in cavities as small as 90 ml. Whether this system is comparable to conventional three-port 3-mm laparoscopic surgery in small cavities-such as in pediatric surgery-has to be evaluated in further studies.
