Robotic Surgery for the Treatment of Achalasia Cardia: Surgical Technique, Initial Experiences and Literature Review

Background The outcomes of surgical interventions for achalasia treatment improved with the advent of minimally invasive surgery and the introduction of robotic surgery. This article describes the technical details of robotic achalasia surgery, shares our initial experiences, and discusses why robotic surgery will become the first choice for the surgical treatment of achalasia. Methods The records of patients with a diagnosis of achalasia who underwent robotic surgery were evaluated retrospectively. The patients’ data were examined in terms of demographic parameters, duration of complaints, treatment options applied previously, robotic surgery technique, and postoperative outcomes. Results Of the six patients evaluated, four (66.7%) were males and two (33.3%) were females. Their mean age was 32 years (20-51 years), and the mean symptom duration was 4.6 years (2-9 years). All of the patients underwent robotic Heller cardiomyotomy surgery. After the myotomy procedure, five of the six patients (83.3%) underwent partial anterior fundoplication (Dor) as an antireflux procedure. The cruroraphy procedure was performed in one patient (16.7%) due to accompanying hiatal hernia, whereas the procedures were completed in five patients (83.3%) without performing posterior dissection of the oesophagus. In the postoperative follow-up period, no surgical problem was encountered, while reflux symptoms developed in one patient (16.7%) and were controlled by medical therapy. Conclusions The success of surgical treatment of achalasia is incontrovertible. Due to the various advantages of robotic surgery, it is now frequently used in narrow-area surgeries, such as achalasia surgery.