Robotic versus laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy - The first meta-analysis

Area of Science:

• Minimally invasive surgery
• Surgical oncology
• Gastrointestinal surgery

Background:

• Minimally invasive pancreaticoduodenectomy is debated.
• Distal pancreatectomy techniques require comparison.

Purpose of the Study:

• Compare robotic distal pancreatectomy (RDP) versus laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy (LDP).
• Evaluate safety, feasibility, and oncological outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature search of EMBASE, Medline, and PubMed.
• Meta-analysis of nine studies involving 637 patients.
• Data analysis using Review Manager 5.3.

Main Results:

• Robotic distal pancreatectomy (RDP) resulted in a 1-day shorter hospital stay (P=0.01).
• Laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy (LDP) had a nonsignificant shorter operative time (P=0.12).
• RDP showed a significantly increased readmission rate (P=0.04), with no differences in other complications or mortality.

Conclusions:

• No essential difference in feasibility, safety, or oncological adequacy between RDP and LDP.
• Longer RDP operative time attributed to robot docking.
• Shorter RDP hospital stay must be considered alongside increased readmission rates.