Full Robotic Whole Graft Liver Transplantation: A Step Into The Future

To report the first European series of full robotic whole liver transplantation (RLT) with technical details and future perspectives.

Few cases of liver transplantation with a minimally invasive approach using partial grafts have been reported so far, and no cases of robotic whole liver transplantation have been reported in the scientific literature.

The adopted technique was full robotic liver hepatectomy, followed by robotic implantation after graft introduction through a small midline incision. Patients presenting with hepatocellular carcinoma in liver cirrhosis with a small caudate lobe, low degree of portal hypertension, no porto-mesenteric thrombosis, as well as low Model for End-Stage Liver Disease patients have been considered ideal candidates.

Six patients underwent RLT between February and March 2024 at Lisbon and Modena University Liver Transplant Centers. Warm ischemia time during RLT ranged between 55 and 90 minutes, with a total surgery duration between 440 and 710 minutes. The median total operative time was 595 (±111.3) minutes. Only 1 recipient had prolonged hyperbilirubinemia, which was safely treated. The median in-hospital stay was 7.5 days (±4.8 d).

RLT is a promising technique to further reduce the impact of liver transplantation thanks to smaller incision, gentle tissue manipulation, high magnification and precision for vascular and biliary anastomosis, and reduced postoperative pain. This is the first step toward the demonstration of the feasibility of minimally invasive surgery in liver transplantation, although further selection and technical refinements are needed to improve reproducibility.