Safety and feasibility of reduced-port robotic distal gastrectomy for gastric cancer: a phase I/II clinical trial using the da Vinci Single Port(SP) robotic system

Minimally invasive surgery reduces surgical trauma and the size and number of incisions. The da Vinci SP robotic surgical system was designed to overcome the technical demands of single-incision laparoscopic surgery. This study aimed to demonstrate the safety and feasibility of single-port (SP) robotic distal gastrectomy (SPRDG) for patients with gastric cancer using the da Vinci SP system (Intuitive Surgical Inc., Sunnyvale, CA, USA). This study was designed as a single-arm prospective phase I/II clinical trial of SPRDG (first posted date: 21/09/2021, NCT05051670; clinicaltrials.gov). SPRDG using the da Vinci SP system was performed on 19 patients with gastric cancer between December 2021 and October 2022. The primary outcome was the safety of SPRDG as measured by major postoperative complications. The secondary outcomes were operation time, bleeding amount, bowel motility recovery, and length of hospital stay. SPRDG was performed in all 19 patients without unexpected events, such as use of additional trocars or conversion to laparoscopic or open surgery. No major complications occurred postoperatively (0/19, 0.0%). The mean operation time was 218 min (range 164–286 min). The mean hospital stay duration was 3.2 days (range 2–4 days). This phase I/II clinical trial, performed by a single expert surgeon, demonstrated the safety and feasibility of SPRDG with the da Vinci SP system in selected patients with gastric cancer. SPRDG could be a reasonable alternative to conventional or reduced-port minimally invasive gastrectomy, as it has cosmetic advantages, early recovery, and safe discharge.