Clinical evaluation of complete solo surgery with the "ViKY^®" robotic laparoscope manipulator

Advancement in both surgical technique and medical equipment has enabled solo surgery. ViKY^® Endoscope Positioning System (ViKY^®) is a robotic system that remotely controls an endoscope and provides direct vision control to the surgeon. Here, we report our experience with ViKY^®-assisted solo surgery.

We retrospectively examined 25 cases of solo surgery TAPP with ViKY^®. ViKY^® was setup by the surgeon alone, and the setup duration was determined as the time at which the side rail was positioned and that when the endoscope was installed. For assessing the control unit, the number of false movements was counted. We compared the operative results between ViKY^®-assisted solo surgery TAPP and the conventional method with an assistant.

The average time to set up ViKY^® was 7.9 min. The average number of commands for ViKY^® during surgery was 98.3, and the average number of errors and no response of control unit was 7.9. The mean duration of surgery was 136 min for the ViKY^® group, including the setup time, and 117 min for the conventional method. No case required an assistant during the operation. There was also no difference between the two groups with regard to postoperative complications and the rate of recurrence.

ViKY^® proved reliable in recognizing orders with very few failures, and the operations were performed safely and were comparable to the conventional operations with assistants. Solo surgery with ViKY^® was beneficial in this clinical evaluation.