Robotic Pancreaticoduodenectomy: Single-Surgeon Initial Experience

Abstract

Minimally invasive surgery has gained increasing acceptance over the last few years, which has expanded to pancreaticoduodenectomy. Laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy has been determined to be a feasible, safe, and effective procedure in an experienced surgeon’s hands, but the adaptations to the clumsy instruments are needed. The improved dexterity of the Da Vinci robotic system provides a good opportunity to perform this challenging procedure in the minimally invasive context. The aim of this study was to share our preliminary experience of totally robotic pancreaticoduodenectomy. From April 2015 to August 2015, four patients were selected to undergo totally robotic pancreaticoduodenectomy in the Department of Pancreatic Surgery, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, China. The demographic characteristics, perioperative details, and pathological results were retrospectively reviewed. One female and two male patients underwent totally robotic pancreaticoduodenectomy, while another male patient underwent robotic total pancreatectomy due to the severe atrophy of pancreatic body and tail. The mean age of the four patients was 56.8 years. The average operation time and intraoperative blood loss were 563 min and 228 mL, respectively. No one needed blood transfusion, conversion to open pancreaticoduodenectomy, or postoperative analgesia. The postoperative courses of these patients were uneventful. The mean postoperative hospital stay was 10 days. No one required to be readmitted, and there was no death within 30 days following the surgery. Final pathologic examinations revealed one malignant pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, and three benign lesions. Based on this initial study, robotic pancreaticoduodenectomy is safe and feasible, with acceptable oncological outcomes for highly selected patients in experienced surgeons’ hands. However, concerns such as long-term outcomes, cost-effectiveness analysis, and learning curve analysis should be fully demonstrated before the popularization of this challenging procedure.