Robotic transhiatal excision of epiphrenic diverticula.

An epiphrenic oesophageal diverticulum is most commonly a pulsion diverticulum which develops consequent to protrusion of mucosa through the muscular wall of the distal oesophagus. Most of them are associated with underlying oesophageal motility disorders. The predominant symptoms are dysphagia with regurgitation, and sometimes retrosternal pain, if accompanied by spasm of the oesophagus. Surgical management is recommended for symptomatic patients. Traditional procedures include thoracotomy or laparotomy with excision of the diverticula, but these are associated with high morbidity. Laparoscopic approach is a safe treatment option associated with lesser morbidity. Here, we present a case of epiphrenic diverticulum which was treated by the robotic approach without any complication. There was also no associated motility abnormality in our case so fundoplication was not done. Robotic surgery is a useful tool while operating near the hiatus and gastro-oesophageal junction. We consider transhiatal robotic approach as a safe and easy approach for surgery of epiphrenic diverticulum.