Current status and future perspectives of robotic surgery and laparoscopic surgery for gastric cancer

Laparoscopic gastrectomy has not become a common procedure for gastric cancer due to the difficulties of performing D2 lymphadenectomy and reconstruction of digestive tract by the conventional laparoscopic instruments.The da Vinci system provides 3D visualization,enhanced magnification,and seven degrees of freedom of the instruments to suture and knot in the narrow surgical space,so it can perform totally robotic gastrectomy with D2 lymphadenectomy and robot-sewing anastomosis for reconstruction.Application of robotic system can expand the indications of minimally invasive surgery in treatment of gastric cancer.Combination fast-track surgery to optimize the perioperative management with the technique of minimally invasive surgery can enhance the recovery of surgical gastric cancer patients. Key words: Stomach neoplasms ;  Robotic surgery ; Laparoscopic surgery