Is Robotic Surgery the Next Disruption in Vascular Surgery?

Femoropopliteal bypass (FPB) remains the gold standard for patients with chronic limb threatening ischaemia, offering durable patency and limb salvage outcomes. In this issue of European Journal of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery Vascular Forum, Berndt and colleagues1 revisit the most familiar problems of FPB (the consequences of lymphatic disruption and the enduring problem of groin wound complications2–5) with an unfamiliar tool. Their cadaveric feasibility study explores whether the da Vinci Single Port system (Intuitive, Sunnyvale, CA, USA) can be used to perform proximal femoral bypass dissection and anastomosis through a small medial thigh incision, thereby avoiding a groin incision altogether.