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Robotic Versus Laparoscopic Bariatric Surgery: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

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Abstract

We aim to summarize the available literature on patients treated with robotic bariatric surgery (RBS) or laparoscopic bariatric surgery (LBS) and compare the clinical outcomes between RBS and LBS. A systematic literature was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. Thirty-four observational studies met our inclusion criteria, and 27 studies of 27,997 patients were included in the meta-analysis. There were no significant differences between RBS and LBS regarding overall postoperative complications, major complications, the length of hospital stay, reoperation, conversion, and mortality. Nevertheless, RBS was burdened by longer operative times and higher hospital costs when compared with LBS. On the contrary, the incidence of anastomotic leak was lower in RBS than in LBS. Further studies with a longer follow-up are recommended.

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Acknowledgments

My deepest gratitude goes to Professor Pin Zhang for her constant encouragement and guidance. Without his consistent and illuminating instruction, this study could not have reached its present form. This work did not receive any specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not for-profit sector.

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Correspondence to Kun Li.

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The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Ethical Statement

This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

Informed Consent Statement

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Kun Li and Jianan Zou contributed equally to this work.

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Li, K., Zou, J., Tang, J. et al. Robotic Versus Laparoscopic Bariatric Surgery: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. OBES SURG 26, 3031–3044 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11695-016-2408-5

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