Robotic vs. laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass in morbidly obese patients: systematic review and pooled analysis

Background The aim of this study was to provide pooled analysis of individually small trials comparing robotic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RRYGB) with standard laparoscopic RYGB (LRYGB). Methods A systematic literature search of Medline, Embase and Cochrane Library databases was performed. Primary outcome measures were the incidence of anastomotic leak and stricture. Secondary outcome measures were post-operative complications, operative time and length of hospital stay. Results Seven relevant studies of 1686 patients were included in this analysis. There was a significantly reduced incidence of anastomotic stricture in the robotic group (POR = 0.43; 95% CI = 0.19 to 0.98; p = 0.04). There was no significant difference between robotic and laparoscopic groups for anastomotic leak, post-operative complications, operative time and length of hospital stay. Conclusion The incidence of anastomotic stricture was reduced with RRYGB compared with LRYGB over a minimum follow-up period of 6 months, thus demonstrating the potential benefit of RRYGB. Copyright (C) 2011 JohnWiley & Sons, Ltd.