[Robot-assisted Radical Esophagectomy].

Robot-assisted esophagectomy for esophageal cancer began in 2003. Both of robot-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy (RAMIE) and robot-assisted transhiatal esophagectomy (RATE) have been applied to date. Their reports show that the short term results focused on the safety and oncological aspects are equal to the conventional procedures, though the robot-assisted esophagectomy still does not spread. We have developed the new procedure, a non-transthoracic esophagectomy combining a video-assisted cervical approach for the upper mediastinum and a robot-assisted transhiatal for the middle and lower mediastinum to overcome the disadvantages of the conventional methods, e. g., the postoperative pulmonary complications. The results are promising.