Vagus nerve‐guided (modified Bai‐Jiang‐style) robotic‐assisted laparoscopic splenectomy and azygoportal disconnection

• Published in: The international journal of medical robotics + computer assisted surgery Vol. 19; no. 2; pp. e2490 - n/a
• Main Authors: Bai, Dou‐Sheng, Jin, Sheng‐Jie, Zhou, Bao‐Huan, Xiang, Xiao‐Xing, Qian, Jian‐Jun, Zhang, Chi, Gao, Tian‐Ming, Jiang, Guo‐Qing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.04.2023
• Subjects: azygoportal disconnection; Digestive system; Esophageal and Gastric Varices - complications; Esophageal and Gastric Varices - surgery; Fistula; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage - complications; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage - surgery; Humans; Hypertension, Portal - complications; Hypertension, Portal - surgery; Laparoscopy; Laparoscopy - methods; Liver cirrhosis; Nerves; portal hypertension; Prospective Studies; Retrospective Studies; robot; Robotic Surgical Procedures - adverse effects; Robotics; splenectomy; Splenectomy - methods; Treatment Outcome; vagus nerve; Vagus Nerve - surgery; robot; vagus nerve; portal hypertension; azygoportal disconnection; liver cirrhosis; splenectomy
• ISSN: 1478-5951; 1478-596X
• DOI: 10.1002/rcs.2490

Background How to precisely protect and preserve anterior and posterior vagal trunks and all their branches during the procedure of splenectomy and azygoportal disconnection is studied rarely. We firstly developed a vagus nerve‐guided robotic‐assisted laparoscopic splenectomy and azygoportal disconnection (VGRSD). The aim of this study was to evaluate whether VGRSD is feasible and safe and to determine whether VGRSD can effectively eliminate postoperative digestive system complications by protecting vagal nerve precisely. Method In this prospective clinical study, 10 cirrhotic patients with oesophagogastric variceal bleeding and hypersplenism who underwent VGRSD between January 2022 and March 2022 were gathered, and compared with a retrospective cohort who received a part of the vagus nerve‐preserving robotic‐assisted laparoscopic splenectomy and azygoportal disconnection (VPRSD). They were all followed up for 6 months. Results In VGRSD group, the operation time was 173.5 ± 16.2 min, blood loss was 68.0 ± 39.1 ml, VAS pain score on the first day was 1.9 ± 0.7, and the postoperative hospital stay was 7.7 ± 0.7 days. There was no incisional complications, pneumonia, gastric fistula, pancreatic fistula, and abdominal infection. No patients suffered from diarrhoea, delayed gastric emptying, and epigastric fullness. Compared with VPRSD, operation time was significantly longer for VGRSD (p < 0.05). However, VGRSD was significantly associated with less diarrhoea and shorter postoperative hospital stay (all p < 0.05). Conclusion VGRSD procedure is not only technically feasible and safe, it also effectively eliminate postoperative digestive system complications. Trial registration We registered our research at https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/. The name of research registered is ‘Vagus Nerve‐guided Robotic‐assisted Splenectomy and Azygoportal Disconnection’. The trial registration identifier at clinicaltrials.gov is NCT05300516.