Researchers have confirmed that robotic hepatectomy can be performed safely as an outpatient procedure, offering a less invasive option with quicker recovery times for patients undergoing liver surgery. For ambulatory surgery centers, though, it will require significant investment in  robotic surgical technologies. 

In a recently released study published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, the researchers evaluated 307 cases from six hepatobiliary centers by assessing outpatient robotic hepatectomies performed between 2013 and 2023. 

“This study is proof that for the right patients and with the right tools — meaning robotic surgery — we can get people through a liver operation quicker and toward recovery and normal life faster,” Dr. Yuman Fong, senior author of the study, said in a press release. 

The research also has larger economic implications for health care. The readmission rate of open liver surgery is 20% to 25% at most major cancer centers, Fong said. Yet the readmission rate for robotic hepatectomy was 1.6% in this retrospective analysis of data.

“Even after leaving the hospital, recovery from such surgeries will often take three to six weeks. In this study of robotic surgery, we found that by one week many of these patients were able to take 5,000 to 6,000 steps,” he said. 

According to a 2021 article in the Annals of Translational Medicine, on average, admission cost was $15,200 in 2018, and the cost of unplanned hospital readmission in the United States is estimated to be around $30 billion. 

“Not long ago, liver resections were considered an open surgery procedure that requires a fairly big incision,” Fong said. “Patients often need to stay in the hospital five to 14 days, and they’re often admitted to intensive care units.”

Approximately 1.8% of U.S. adults have liver disease, according to Cleveland Clinic statistics. It causes about 57,000 U.S. deaths per year.