Robotic distal splenopancreatectomy: bridging the gap between pancreatic and minimal access surgery.

INTRODUCTION

Almost 10 years have passed since computer-aided, most commonly known as robotic surgery, has emerged gaining slowly but steadily its place within minimally invasive surgical procedures. Nevertheless, pancreatic surgeons only recently have started incorporating it into current practice.

METHODS

In this 'how I do it' article, we describe our method for robotic distal splenopancreatectomy, focusing on its technical advantages, as well as its drawbacks. Furthermore, we describe some pitfalls commonly encountered during the procedure and we propose ways to avoid them.

CONCLUSION

Pancreatic robotic-assisted surgery is offering many practical advantages over the "classic" laparoscopic approach. Even though a difficult procedure to master, it may have the potential to establish the concept of minimally invasive surgery in areas where it is nonexistent as in pancreatic surgery.