TY - JOUR AU - van Boxel, Gijsbert I. AU - Kingma, B. Feike AU - Voskens, Frank J. AU - Ruurda, Jelle P. AU - van Hillegersberg, Richard PY - 2019 TI - Robotic-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy: past, present and future JF - Journal of Thoracic Disease; Vol 12, No 2 (February 19, 2020): Journal of Thoracic Disease [The 4th Ruijin International Thoracic Symposium (RITS 2019): Complex Robotic Thoracic Surgery] Y2 - 2019 KW - N2 - Esophagectomy for cancer of the esophagus is increasingly performed using minimally invasive techniques. After the introduction of minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) in the early 1990’s, robotic-assisted techniques followed after the turn of the millennium. The advent of robotic platforms has allowed the development of robotic-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy (RAMIE) over the past 15 years. Although recent trials have shown superior peri-operative morbidity and quality of life compared to open esophagectomy, no randomized trials have compared RAMIE to conventional MIE. This paper summarizes the current literature on RAMIE and provides an overview of expected future developments in robotic surgery. UR - https://jtd.amegroups.org/article/view/30831