[Status of Robotics in Living Donor Liver and Kidney Transplantation - Review of the Literature and Results of a Survey among German Transplant Centres].

Abstract

The advantages of minimally invasive surgical techniques are undisputed. With the introduction of robotic assistance systems, classic laparoscopy has been further developed and is now also being utilized in transplant surgery, which was previously mainly characterised by open surgical procedures, particularly in living donor liver and kidney donations. In order to assess the current implementation status of robotic assistance systems in transplant surgery, international studies in this field were summarized and correlated with a national survey on the use of robotic assistance systems in living donation.First, a narrative summary of the MEDLINE-listed publications on robotic living kidney and liver donation was carried out. In addition, an online survey was conducted among German transplant centres with ten questions on the utilization of robotic techniques in Germany.Retrospective cohort studies at a small number of transplant centres worldwide report particular advantages of robotics, especially regarding blood loss, patient comfort and length of hospital stay. One-third of German transplant centres already perform living kidney donations with robotic assistance, and one-fifth of centres even use this technique in over 90% of cases. In contrast, living liver donations are only performed in one German transplant centre using robotic assistance for left lateral liver resection of the donor.In the context of living donation, advocates of robotics emphasise technical advantages, greater patient comfort and a steeper learning curve. A persistent and significant point of criticism regarding robotic surgical techniques remains the prolonged warm ischemia time, especially during learning curves. The survey results presented here demonstrate that there is still a substantial need for discussion on this current topic. However, there is a lack of prospective randomised controlled studies.