A new study suggests that complex liver surgeries may be better performed by a robot.
Surgeons at a large New York City hospital took a look at 353 surgeries performed between 2017 and 2023 in which parts of patients’ livers were removed, including 112 open surgeries performed using large incisions, 107 operations performed by laparoscopic surgeons, and 134 operations performed using… Surgical robots.
After taking into account the patients’ individual risk factors and the complexity of each case, it was found that those who underwent laparoscopic or robotic surgeries had an average length of stay shorter by 39 and 43%, respectively, and the odds of complications were lower by 89 and 62% respectively.
Ranking, compared to patients who underwent open surgery.
A report in the scientific journal Surgical Endoscopy stated that robotic surgeries were 87% less likely to require conversion to open surgery during surgery than laparoscopic surgeries.
In operations to treat malignant tumors, the odds of achieving clean resection margins without any cancer cells were similar, regardless of the surgical method used.
The researchers said the study was not a randomized trial and cannot conclusively prove that robotic surgery is the safest for liver resection. Although laparoscopic surgery is generally known for reducing blood loss, as well as complications and length of hospital stay, it is not ideal in complex liver cases. .
“Switching to robotic liver resection may help bridge this gap of complexity,” the researchers concluded.
The study involved researchers in the Departments of Surgery and Population Health Sciences at Weill Cornell Medical Teaching Hospital and the Department of Surgery at New York Langone Hospital.