@annief I wish I could be of more help in the recovery time is for robotic surgery, the one thing I can recommended is that no matter what type of surgery you have... you must take eating again very slow! It is wonderful to have less pain, and it is so easy to over do it! I also can relate to the pain you feel with sitting with your arms crossed... yes that is REAL!! Please know I am a chronic MALS patient, so I have had several surgeries... many people have one and are cured. For me, I have a difficult time due to other diagnosis on top of MALS, however I the good I get out of it is that I can help others who have similar symptoms or complications. So... back to the arms crossed, for me... when the pain is bad I cannot wear a bra... way too constricting, also with the weight loss you get to be a little more bony which causes pain with undergarments! Sorry men that are reading this.... but its true. Also, wearing a belt for me can be uncomfortable...which does not make a lot of sense since it is lower on the abdomen, however... it is still constricting. My one question to you is how will the surgeon determine if the artery has good blood flow after the release of the ligament? Did he explain? I am so excited that there are less invasive ways to treat this condition, so I look forward to hearing about your journey. For many of us, the longer the compression, the harder it is for that artery to go back to its normal shape. My surgery was open, and after the ligament was cut my artery was still kinked, verified by inter-operative ultrasound. I had a celiac bypass done, also it was discovered that the compression had resulted in increased velocities in my hepatic/splenic artery and a patch angioplasty was done to correct that. I was in my early 40's for my first surgery. I hope this helps! Please feel ask questions! Good to have you here.