Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare the outcomes of robotic gastrectomy (RG) and laparoscopic gastrectomy (LG) for surgical treatment of patients with gastric cancer.
Methods: Patients who underwent RG (study group) between December 2007 and December 2011 were enrolled in the study, and patients who underwent LG (control group) during the same period were matched for age, gender, and co-morbidity. Analysis of clinicopathological data, operative data, postoperative morbidity, and pathologic data was performed.
Results: Twenty one RG patients (study group) and 42 LG patients (control group) were enrolled in the study. The mean age of patients in the RG group was 52.3 years, and the ratio of male to female was 14 : 7. Nineteen distal gastrectomies (90.4%), one total gastrectomy (4.8%), and one proximal gastrectomy (4.8%) were performed in the RG group. A longer mean operative time (267.2 [range, 170∼360] vs. 166.7 [range, 95∼275] min, p＜0.001) and more estimated blood loss (173.2 vs. 116.6 ml, p=0.014) were observed in the RG group; however, no difference in the mean numbers of harvested lymph nodes (39.7 vs. 46.5, p=0.063), duration of hospital stay (6.4 vs. 5.9 day, p=0.508), and early complication rate (9.6% vs. 4.8%, p=0.416) was observed between the two groups.
Conclusion: In our experience, RG with lymphadenectomy for treatment of early gastric cancer is technically feasible. However, compared with LG, longer operative time and more estimated blood loss was observed with RG, while no difference was observed in numbers of harvested lymph nodes and length of hospital stay.

Keywords: Robotic gastrectomy, Gastric cancer, Minimally invasive surgery