Robots and Weight Loss Surgery

Totally Robotic Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass (TRLRYGB)

Obesity is a growing public health problem in the United States with nearly one-third of the US population meeting the definition of obesity, defined as having a body mass index (BMI) greater than 30 kg/m².  To date, only bariatric surgery has been demonstrated to be of long-term therapeutic benefit for patients who are morbidly obese. This dependence on surgical treatment has resulted in an impressive increase in the number of gastric bypasses performed in the United States increasing from 16,000 to 103,000 per year over the last 11 years. The surgery itself is technically and physically demanding on the surgeon. A significant learning curve of 70-100 cases for the Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass (LRYGB) has been demonstrated, and complication rates and operative times tend to be highest in a surgeon’s first 75 cases.  Many of the challenges seen with this operation are secondary to the limitations of laparoscopy – 2-D camera, long instruments, counterintuitive instrument movement, loss of two degrees of freedom and the abdominal wall torque caused by the morbidly obese abdominal wall. The strain on the surgeon can lead to fatigue, tremors and neuropathies.

To learn more about robotic weight loss surgery, visit ObesityHelp's RNY Forum to read the article, Totally Robotic Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass (TRLRYGB).