Introduction : Over recent years, minimally invasive hepatic resections have increasingly been reported in the literature. Even though hepatic surgery is still considered a challenge, the development and spread of robotic surgery have highlighted a new interest, which has induced a rapid dissemination of robotic approaches.In this study, we report our initial experience with robotic hepatectomy.

Methods : A retrospective review of robotic hepatectomy cases performed from December 2017 to January 2018.

Results : Total cumulative cases are five; with a median age of 44 years (range 24–65). The first case was intrahepatic bile duct stone and left lateral sectionectomy was performed. The second case was metastatic neuroendocrine tumor from cervix located in segment 6 and segmentectomy was done. The third case was intrahepatic bile duct stone in the left lobe and left hemihepatectomy was done. The fourth case was hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) located in segment 2 and Left lateral sectionectomy was performed with 297 min operation time. The last case was focal nodular hyperplasia with a symptom. Wedge resection was done and its operation time was 225 min. Median operative time was 329 min (range 188-490); median docking time was 15.4 min (range 10-17). There were no conversions to open or laparoscopic surgery. The median length of hospital stay was 12 days (range 11-14).

Conclusions : This initial series adds to existing data on the feasibility of robotic hepatectomy cases with inherent advantages of minimally invasive surgery, however with a limitation of availability and use of devices like CUSA and higher operative cost.