Robots beat surgeons at complex liver surgery

NEW YORK – Complicated liver surgeries might best be done by robots, according to a new study.

Surgeons at one large New York City hospital looked back at 353 operations done between 2017 and 2023 in which pieces of the patient’s liver were removed, including 112 open surgeries done through large incisions, 107 done by surgeons laparoscopically, and 134 done by surgical robots, Reuters reported.

After accounting for patients’ individual risk factors and the complexity of each case, those who underwent laparoscopic or robotic procedures had 39% and 43% shorter median lengths of stay, respectively, and 89% and 62% lower odds of complications compared to patients having open procedures.

The robotic procedures were also 87% less likely than the laparoscopic surgeries to require a switch to open surgery in the middle of the operation, according to a report in Surgical Endoscopy.