[Feasibility of robotic surgical system in radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer after liver transplantation].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the feasibility and safety of robotic surgical system for radical gastrectomy after liver transplantation.

METHODS: A 65-year-old male patient with gastric cancer after liver transplantation underwent radical distal subtotal gastrectomy using Da Vinci surgical system at the General Surgery Department of Southwest Hospital Affiliated to the Army Military Medical University on October 23,2018. The placement of Trocars was arranged using five-hole method. No metastatic tumors were found during intraperitoneal exploration and the first hepatic hilum was found to be wrapped with omentum majus. The tumor located at gastric antrum near the lesser curvature. Then the first and the second station lymph nodes were dissected successively. Distal gastrectomy, Billroth II and Brown anastomosis were performed. The anatomical changes of upper abdomen and gastric lymph reflux after liver transplantation were analyzed.

RESULTS: Radical distal gastrectomy with D2 lymphadenectomy was successfully performed under the whole robotic surgical system. The operative time was 315 minutes,and blood loss was 145 ml. A total of 19 lymph nodes were dissected, of which 11 were metastatic lymph nodes. The operative difficulty was to separate the adhesion around the hepatic hilum precisely so as to avoid the damage of hepatic surface, as well as the colon hepatic flexure and duodenum which were closely adhered to hepatic hilum. Meanwhile,it was necessary to pay attention to protetion for the common bile duct and portal vein. The endoscopic wrist joint of the robot surgical system was flexible and delicate, which had obvious advantages in the process of anatomical separation of the adhesions among organs and adhesions around denuded common hepatic artery without normal vascular sheath. Semi-liquid diet was provided on the third day after operation. The immunosuppressants were resumed on the third day after operation. The patient was discharged on the 7th day postoperatively without any complications. There were no abdominal bleeding, incision infection,anastomotic leakage, anastomotic stenosis and other complications. Two months after operation, the patients diet and daily life is normal.

CONCLUSION: The robotic surgical system is safe and feasible for gastric cancer surgery after liver transplantation.