Gallbladder surgery with da Vinci
If gallbladder pain is disrupting your life, minimally invasive surgery with da Vinci may be the answer.Gallbladder removal surgery (also called a cholecystectomy) doesn't have to mean a long recovery. Minimally invasive da Vinci surgery allows surgeons to remove the gallbladder through small incisions. That may mean you recover sooner,1 so you can get back to the things that matter.Many doctors trust da Vinci to help them remove gallbladders. Da Vinci gives surgeons a clear view of where they're operating and helps them move instruments with greater control, even in small spaces inside the body.
Greater precisionThe da Vinci system turns your surgeon's hand movements into exact movements of the miniaturized instruments. It also helps steady the instruments by reducing surgeon hand tremors. This helps your surgeon carefully remove the gallbladder while avoiding important structures, like the liver and bile ducts.
Better visionThe da Vinci system gives your surgeon a clear, magnified 3D view inside your body and lets your surgeon use Firefly imaging. Firefly uses a special dye that lights up during surgery, allowing surgeons to see bile ducts and blood flow, so they can operate with confidence.
Da Vinci gallbladder removal: What the research shows
In the U.S., surgeons perform about 90% of gallbladder removal surgeries using a minimally invasive approach—including da Vinci robotic-assisted surgery.2,3 Open surgery to remove the gallbladder is uncommon, but surgeons may have to change from minimally invasive surgery to open surgery, which requires a cut (incision) about six inches long.Results seen in studies for cholecystectomySurgery studies look at different patients and measure different results. That's why results for da Vinci surgery vary across study groups.The results shown in the charts below are from a review of 31 studies published from January 1, 2010, to April 15, 2024. The number of patients in these studies was 135,710 da Vinci surgery patients, 6,172,677 laparoscopic patients, and 499,544 open surgery patients.1
Da Vinci vs. laparoscopic
Metric | Da Vinci | Laparoscopic |
|---|---|---|
Average length of hospital stay (days) | 2.1 days | 2.3 days |
Estimated blood loss (mL) | 14.8 mL* | 22.5 mL |
Surgical site infections | 1.3% | 1.3% |
Complications within 30 days (%) | 13.3% | 12.0% |
Readmissions to the hospital within 30 days (%) | 5.7% | 5.7% |
Reoperations within 30 days (%) | 1.4% | 1.4% |
Unplanned change to open surgery (%) | 2.6%* | 6.3% |
Length of time in surgery (minutes) | 97 min | 87.2 min* |
* Results were statistically significant
Da Vinci vs. open surgery
Metric | Da Vinci | Open |
|---|---|---|
Average length of hospital stay (days) | 3.0 days* | 6.5 days |
Surgical site infections | 2.1%* | 7.0% |
Complications within 30 days (%) | 19.8%* | 31.0% |
Readmissions to the hospital within 30 days (%) | 10.5% | 18.7% |
Reoperations within 30 days (%) | 2.3% | 3.1% |
* Results were statistically significant
If you and your doctor decide surgery is right for you, ask whether da Vinci robotic-assisted surgery could be the answer.
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