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Biliary cysts (BC) are rare congenital dilatations of intra- and extrahepatic parts of the biliary tract1. Approximately 1% of all benign biliary diseases are BC with an incidence of 1:1000 in Asian countries and 1:100,000 to 1:150,000 in western countries1,2. While the majority of cases are diagnosed during infancy or childhood, 20% of the cases are diagnosed in adults2. BC are divided into groups as per the Todani classification3. The early diagnosis and treatment are crucial since BC are associated with a risk of carcinogenesis, not only occurring more often in these patients but also 10-15 years before the disease is manifested4,5,6. The overall risk of malignancy has been reported to be 10%-15%, and depends on the Todani classification and age1,6. While patients aged 31-50 years with BC have a risk of 19% of carcinogenesis, 51-70-year-old patients with BC were reported to have a risk of at least 50% of carcinogenesis7. Surgery is the cornerstone treatment of BC8. While total BC excision and Roux-Y hepaticojejunostomy is the treatment method of the choice in patients with extrahepatic BC (i.e., Todani I-IV), patients with intrahepatic BC (i.e., Todani V) benefit the most from a surgical liver resection or liver transplantation in case of bilobar Todani V8.
In recent years, minimally invasive liver surgery (MILS), including laparoscopic and robotic MILS has gained more acceptance as a feasible, safe, and effective procedure for the treatment of both benign and malignant indications9,10,11,12. According to the most recent international Southampton guidelines on laparoscopic liver surgery, laparoscopy is now seen as the gold standard for minor liver resections and laparoscopic major liver resections are considered feasible and safe in selected patients if performed by surgeons who have completed the learning curve for minor laparoscopic liver surgery. However, laparoscopic liver surgery has some persistent limitations, including restriction of movements, presence of physiologic tremors and reduced visualization13,14. Robotic MILS is, therefore, a valuable alternative to laparoscopic MILS. It is suggested that robotic MILS provides a better magnified three-dimensional view, tremor filtration, improved dexterity with several degrees of freedom, ease of suturing, and better motion scaling, as compared to laparoscopic liver surgery15,16,17. Furthermore, robotic MILS allows the surgeon to remain in a seated posture, reducing fatigue during surgery18. While some studies reported on the potential advantages of robotic MILS as compared to open liver surgery, several high-volume expert centers showed similar outcomes of both minor and major robotic and laparoscopic MILS14,18,19,20. However, major robotic MILS, defined as the resection of three or more Couinaud's segments21, is still considered technically demanding and a detailed description of the technical approach during robotic major MILS had only been discussed limitedly in the literature. Studies describing the technique and use of robotic MILS for the treatment of BC Todani Type V are lacking.
Here, we describe our robotic technique of a left hepatectomy using Indocyanine green (ICG) fluorescence imaging for a symptomatic complex BC. This case involves a 68-year-old woman who had elevated liver enzymes during a routine check-up without any clinical symptoms. An abdominal ultrasound of the liver revealed intrahepatic dilatation of the biliary ducts specifically in the left hemi liver without a clear lesion. Further diagnostic examinations, including an abdominal CT scan, MRI scan, (Figure 1) and MRCP, showed a large intrahepatic complex cystic lesion of 40 mm on the border of segment 4a and 4b in continuity with the biliary tree with intrahepatic dilatation of biliary ducts in the left lobe. The patient was diagnosed with a large BC Todani Type V of the left hepatic duct and was recommended for a robotic left hepatectomy. Since there were no signs of biliary obstruction, preoperative biliary drainage was not performed.