title: Robotic transthoracic esophagectomy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  We have initially published our experience with the robotic transthoracic esophagectomy in 32 patients from a single institute. The present paper is the extension of our experience with robotic system and to best of our knowledge this represents the largest series of robotic transthoracic esophagectomy worldwide. The objective of this study was to investigate the feasibility of the robotic transthoracic esophagectomy for esophageal cancer in a series of patients from a single institute.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective review of medical records was conducted for 83 esophageal cancer patients who underwent robotic esophagectomy at our institute from December 2009 to December 2012. All patients underwent a thorough clinical examination and pre-operative investigations. All patients underwent robotic esophageal mobilization. En-bloc dissection with lymphadenectomy was performed in all cases with preservation of Azygous vein. Relevant data were gathered from medical records.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study population comprised of 50 men and 33 women with mean age of 59.18 years. The mean operative time was 204.94 mins (range 180 to 300). The mean blood loss was 86.75 ml (range 50 to 200). The mean number of lymph node yield was 18. 36 (range 13 to 24). None of the patient required conversion. The mean ICU stay and hospital stay was 1 day (range 1 to 3) and 10.37 days (range 10 to 13), respectively. A total of 16 (19.28%) complication were reported in these patents. Commonly reported complication included dysphagia, pleural effusion and anastomotic leak. No treatment related mortality was observed. After a median follow-up period of 10 months, 66 patients (79.52%) survived with disease free stage.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We found robot-assisted thoracoscopic esophagectomy feasible in cases of esophageal cancer. The procedure allowed precise en-bloc dissection with lymphadenectomy in mediastinum with reduced operative time, blood loss and complications.
authors.affiliation: Galaxy Care Laparoscopy Institute, Opposite Garware College, 25-A, Ayurvedic Rasashala Premises, Karve Road, Pune, Maharashtra, 411004, India. shase63@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Shailesh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Puntambekar
authors.affiliation: Galaxy Care Laparoscopy Institute, Opposite Garware College, 25-A, Ayurvedic Rasashala Premises, Karve Road, Pune, Maharashtra, 411004, India.|Department of Surgery, JNMC, KLE University, Belgaum, India.
authors.forename: Rahul
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kenawadekar
authors.affiliation: Galaxy Care Laparoscopy Institute, Opposite Garware College, 25-A, Ayurvedic Rasashala Premises, Karve Road, Pune, Maharashtra, 411004, India.
authors.forename: Sanjay
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: Galaxy Care Laparoscopy Institute, Opposite Garware College, 25-A, Ayurvedic Rasashala Premises, Karve Road, Pune, Maharashtra, 411004, India.
authors.forename: Saurabh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Joshi
authors.affiliation: Galaxy Care Laparoscopy Institute, Opposite Garware College, 25-A, Ayurvedic Rasashala Premises, Karve Road, Pune, Maharashtra, 411004, India.
authors.forename: Geetanjali
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Agarwal
authors.affiliation: Galaxy Care Laparoscopy Institute, Opposite Garware College, 25-A, Ayurvedic Rasashala Premises, Karve Road, Pune, Maharashtra, 411004, India.
authors.forename: Sunil
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Reddy
authors.affiliation: Galaxy Care Laparoscopy Institute, Opposite Garware College, 25-A, Ayurvedic Rasashala Premises, Karve Road, Pune, Maharashtra, 411004, India.
authors.forename: Jainul
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mallik
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D016629:Esophagectomy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008197:Lymph Node Excision; D008297:Male; D008482:Mediastinum; D008875:Middle Aged; D061646:Operative Time; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D065287:Robotic Surgical Procedures