Robotic Versus Open Total Pancreatectomy: a Retrospective Cohort Study

Purpose Robotic total pancreatectomy (RTP), although considered safe and feasible, has rarely been reported. This study aimed to evaluate whether RTP has advantages over open TP (OTP). Methods Demographics and perioperative outcomes among patients who underwent RTP (n=14) versus OTP (n=15) between May 2015 and September 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Results RTP reduced the operative time (307.2 vs. 382.0 min, p =0.01) and estimated blood loss (EBL) (200 vs. 700 ml, p =0.002) compared to those of OTP. The patients in the RTP group got out of their beds and stood, received their first liquid, and took oral diets earlier (2.0 vs. 3.0 days, p =0.002; 2.0 vs. 4.0 days, p =0.009; 3.0 vs. 5.0 days, p =0.006) and experienced a shorter postoperative hospital stay (PHS) (9.0 vs. 12.0 days, p =0.03). There were no significant differences in the rates of spleen preservation, splenic vessel preservation, bile leakage, delayed gastric emptying, morbidity, or the number of lymph nodes harvest between the two groups. Conclusion This study demonstrates that RTP is safe and feasible in selected patients with different indications in experienced robotic center. RTP was associated with a shorter operative time, lower EBL, and shorter PHS than OTP.