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World J Gastrointest Surg. Jul 27, 2021; 13(7): 668-677
Published online Jul 27, 2021. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v13.i7.668
Robotic donor hepatectomy: Are we there yet?
Ashwin Rammohan, Mohamed Rela
Ashwin Rammohan, Mohamed Rela, Institute of Liver Disease & Transplantation, Dr. Rela Institute & Medical Centre, Bharath Institute of Higher Education & Research, Chennai 600044, India
Author contributions: Rammohan A and Rela M contributed to conception and design, acquisition, analysis and interpretation of data, drafted the article, revised it critically for important intellectual content; Rela M gave the final approval of the version to be published.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Ashwin Rammohan, FACS, FRCS, MCh, Surgeon, Institute of Liver Disease & Transplantation, Dr. Rela Institute & Medical Centre, Bharath Institute of Higher Education & Research, CLC Works Road Chromepet, Chennai 600044, India. ashwinrammohan@gmail.com
Received: February 8, 2021
Peer-review started: February 8, 2021
First decision: March 30, 2021
Revised: April 9, 2021
Accepted: June 16, 2021
Article in press: June 16, 2021
Published online: July 27, 2021
Processing time: 164 Days and 17.3 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: While pioneering attempts are necessary in surgery to allow the development of expertise, the use of technologies in progressively sophisticated procedures must be carefully monitored and gradually implemented to ensure patient safety. The robotic surgical system overcomes reduced visualization, restricted range of motion and physiological tremor associated with conventional laparoscopic surgery. However, robotic donor hepatectomy needs to be evaluated carefully in experienced hands and a cautious approach is crucial, as even one untoward event in the donor surgery may significantly set back progress.