Robotic Liver Resection: A Single Surgeon's Experience

Background: Liver resection has long been a complicated challenge in terms of minimally invasive surgery. However, robotic surgery has expanded the number of surgical procedures that can be performed using minimally invasive techniques. This study describes the authors' experience of 17 robotic liver resections perormed using the da Vinci Surgical System. Methods: From May 2010 to May 2012, 17 patients underwent robotic liver resection at Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Koea. Only patients who underwent left hepatectomy or eft lateral sectionectomy were included in the study. Results: Thirteen patients had hepatocellular carcinoa, one had a biliary cyst, one had a dysplastic nodule, one had fibronodular hyperplasia, and one had a left intrahepatic duct stone. The mean operative time was 267.06 +/- 84.62 minutes and the rnean estimated.blood. loss was 264.71 +/- 104.23 mL. No open conversion was required. The mean tumor size was 298 +/- 1.47 cm an the mean hospital stay was 7.58 +/- 2.26 days. Conclusion: The results confirm the safety and feasibility of robotic liver resection: As surgeons become more experienced with robotic liver resection and the technology improves, more patients will benefit from this approach.