Robotic assisted surgery system is the most advanced minimally invasive surgical platform in the world, and this system has been widely used in cardiac surgery, urology surgery, gynecology surgery and general surgery. Although the application of this system was relative late in esophageal surgery, it has been developing vigorously. According to the research progress and practical experience in the world, robot assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy (RAMIE) has the same safety and effectiveness as traditional open esophagectomy (OE) and thoracoscopic laparoscopic esophagectomy (TLE). In this paper, several aspects on this novel operation were demonstrated, including the origin, safety evaluation, lymph node dissection, learning curve, prognosis of RAMIE, comparison among RAMIE, OE and TLE and the role of RAMIE in multidisciplinary treatment of esophageal cancer, in order to promote the rational application of RAMIE in esophagectomy.
机器人手术系统已广泛应用于心脏外科、泌尿外科、妇科及普通外科手术中，其在食管外科领域虽起步较晚，但呈蓬勃发展的态势。根据国际研究进展及实践经验，机器人辅助微创食管癌根治术具有与传统开放手术及胸腹腔镜联合微创食管癌根治术同样的手术安全性和有效性。本文对机器人辅助微创食管癌根治术的起源、安全性、淋巴结清扫有效性、学习曲线、预后因素、与传统胸腹腔镜联合微创食管癌根治术的比较及其在食管癌多学科治疗中的作用等问题进行系统阐述，以促进机器人辅助微创食管癌根治术的规范化应用和发展，更加合理、有效地应对当前面临的挑战。.
Keywords: Esophageal neoplasms; Robotics.