• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer

Log in
  • Search
    • Search All SAGES Content
    • Search SAGES Guidelines
    • Search the Video Library
    • Search the Image Library
    • Search the Abstracts Archive
www.sages.org

SAGES

Reimagining surgical care for a healthier world

  • Home
    • Search
    • SAGES Home
    • SAGES Foundation Home
  • About
    • Awards
    • Who Is SAGES?
    • Leadership
    • Our Mission
    • Advocacy
    • Committees
      • SAGES Board of Governors
      • Officers and Representatives of the Society
      • Committee Chairs and Co-Chairs
      • Committee Rosters
      • SAGES Past Presidents
  • Meetings
    • SAGES NBT Innovation Weekend
    • SAGES Annual Meeting
      • 2026 Scientific Session Call for Abstracts
      • 2026 Emerging Technology Call for Abstracts
    • CME Claim Form
    • SAGES Past, Present, Future, and Related Meeting Information
    • SAGES Related Meetings & Events Calendar
  • Join SAGES!
    • Membership Application
    • Membership Benefits
    • Membership Types
      • Requirements and Applications for Active Membership in SAGES
      • Requirements and Applications for Affiliate Membership in SAGES
      • Requirements and Applications for Associate Active Membership in SAGES
      • Requirements and Applications for Candidate Membership in SAGES
      • Requirements and Applications for International Membership in SAGES
      • Requirements for Medical Student Membership
    • Member Spotlight
    • Give the Gift of SAGES Membership
  • Patients
    • Join the SAGES Patient Partner Network (PPN)
    • Patient Information Brochures
    • Healthy Sooner – Patient Information for Minimally Invasive Surgery
    • Choosing Wisely – An Initiative of the ABIM Foundation
    • All in the Recovery: Colorectal Cancer Alliance
    • Find A SAGES Surgeon
  • Publications
    • Clinical / Practice / Training Guidelines, Statements, and Standards of Practice
    • Sustainability in Surgical Practice
    • SAGES Stories Podcast
    • Patient Information Brochures
    • Patient Information From SAGES
    • TAVAC – Technology and Value Assessments
    • Surgical Endoscopy and Other Journal Information
    • SAGES Manuals
    • MesSAGES – The SAGES Newsletter
    • COVID-19 Archive
    • Troubleshooting Guides
  • Education
    • Wellness Resources – You Are Not Alone
    • Avoid Opiates After Surgery
    • SAGES Subscription Catalog
    • SAGES TV: Home of SAGES Surgical Videos
    • The SAGES Safe Cholecystectomy Program
    • Masters Program
    • Resident and Fellow Opportunities
      • MIS Fellows Course
      • SAGES Robotics Residents and Fellows Courses
      • SAGES Free Resident Webinar Series
      • Fluorescence-Guided Surgery Course for Fellows
      • Fellows’ Career Development Course
    • SAGES S.M.A.R.T. Enhanced Recovery Program
    • SAGES @ Cine-Med Products
      • SAGES Top 21 Minimally Invasive Procedures Every Practicing Surgeon Should Know
      • SAGES Pearls Step-by-Step
      • SAGES Flexible Endoscopy 101
    • SAGES OR SAFETY Video Activity
  • Opportunities
    • Fellowship Recognition Opportunities
    • SAGES Advanced Flexible Endoscopy Area of Concentrated Training (ACT) SEAL
    • Multi-Society Foregut Fellowship Certification
    • Research Opportunities
    • FLS
    • FES
    • FUSE
    • Jobs Board
    • SAGES Go Global: Global Affairs and Humanitarian Efforts
  • OWLS/FLS
You are here: Home / Abstracts / Learning Curve for Robotic Sleeve Gastrectomy and Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass: Achieving Equivalence to Laparoscopy

Learning Curve for Robotic Sleeve Gastrectomy and Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass: Achieving Equivalence to Laparoscopy

Katherine D Gray, MD, Adham Elmously, MD, Michael P Choi, MD, Patrick T Dolan, MD, Gregory Dakin, MD, Alfons Pomp, MD, Cheguevara Afaneh, MD. New York-Presbyterian-Cornell

Introduction: The robotic platform is increasingly utilized for bariatric procedures, but the learning curve has not been well described.  We aimed to evaluate perioperative morbidity and operative times for robotic sleeve gastrectomy (RSG) and robotic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RRYGB) based on number of procedures performed.

Methods and Procedures: Retrospective review was conducted of all adult patients undergoing RSG or RRYGB by a minimally invasive fellowship-trained surgeon in his first two years of attending practice at a Bariatric Center of Excellence (2015-2017). Linear regression fit lines over number of procedures performed were constructed to describe learning curves for RSG and RRYGB. Operative time was compared within procedure to our institutional averages for patients undergoing laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LGS) or laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB). Residents and fellows participated in an analogous fashion in both arms of the study, and patients undergoing re-operative bariatric surgery were excluded.

Results: A total of 109 patients undergoing RSG (n = 84) or RRYGB (n = 25) were included. For the overall robotic cohort, median age was 38 (range 19-69), 36% were American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score 2, 60% were ASA score 3, and mean body mass index (BMI) was 46 +/- 7 with no differences between procedures.

There were no conversions to open. There was one patient with portal vein thrombosis after RSG which occurred in the 84th RSG and one patient who underwent re-operation in the immediate post-operative period for hemorrhage at the gastro-jejunal anastomosis in the RRYGB group; this occurred in the 8th RRYGB. There were no leaks, strictures, or mortalities in either group. Mean length of stay was 2 days +/- 1 for RSG with no difference based on number of procedures performed. In the RRYGB group, LOS decreased after the first five procedures from 3 days +/- 1 to 2 days +/-1 (p = 0.04). 

For both procedures, operative time decreased by number of procedures performed (Figure). Equivalence to LSG in operative time (118 minutes +/- 40) was reached after eight robotic procedures; equivalence to LRYGB in operative time (169 minutes +/- 47) was reached after twenty-two robotic procedures.

Conclusions: We show that equivalence in operative time to LSG and LRYGB was rapidly achieved using the robotic platform by a fellowship-trained bariatric surgeon in an institution’s first years of robotic bariatric practice. Perioperative morbidity was minimal throughout the study period.


Presented at the SAGES 2017 Annual Meeting in Houston, TX.

Abstract ID: 87363

Program Number: P807

Presentation Session: iPoster Session (Non CME)

Presentation Type: Poster

165

Share this:

  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window) Pocket
  • Click to share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon
  • Click to share on Threads (Opens in new window) Threads
  • Click to share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky

Related


sages_adbutler_leaderboard

Hours & Info

11300 West Olympic Blvd, Suite 600
Los Angeles, CA 90064

1-310-437-0544

[email protected]

Monday – Friday
8am to 5pm Pacific Time

Find Us Around the Web!

  • Bluesky
  • X
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2025 · SAGES · All Rights Reserved

Important Links

Healthy Sooner: Patient Information

SAGES Guidelines, Statements, & Standards of Practice

SAGES Manuals