Robot-assisted liver resection

Abstract

Since April 2022, robot-assisted liver resection has been covered by insurance, and strict institutional standards and guidelines from the Japanese Society of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery and the Japanese Society of Endoscopic Surgery have been proposed for its safe introduction, setting forth the criteria for proctors certified by the societies. Robotic precision surgical techniques are expected to enable safer liver resection. However, several issues must be addressed for widespread use of robot-assisted liver resection, such as overcoming the learning curve of the robotic technique and establishing evidence through prospective case registries in terms of short-and long-term outcomes.