Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 19, 2026
Robotics in Surgery: A Modular Robotic Platform Driven Gastric Wedge Resection
Published on: February 7, 2025
Application of full lateral decubitus position with cephalic parallel approach in robotic-assisted minimally invasive
Yunke Zhu1, Lin Ma1, Lunxu Liu1
1Department of Thoracic Surgery, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China.
Background:
To overcome the technical shortcomings of robot-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy (RAMIE), we designed an optimized approach called full lateral position with cephalic-parallel approach for this technique.
Methods:
We described and demonstrated the details regarding the full lateral position with cephalic-parallel approach for mobilization of the esophagus and mediastinal lymphadenectomy. On the basis of the location and T stage of esophageal cancer, a disease-specific resection process was also designed and introduced. Ten of our latest RAMIE procedures were performed using this approach. Perioperative data were collected and analyzed.
Results:
The mean duration of the entire RAMIE procedure was 381.0±57.5 min. Two (20%) patients suffered from postoperative hoarseness. The mean total number of lymph nodes dissected was 22.4±4.0, and the mean number of positive lymph nodes dissected was 2.0±2.7.
Conclusions:
The newly designed full lateral position with cephalic-parallel approach, which makes the procedure highly convenient, is technically feasible for RAMIE.
