Remote Versus On-Site Robotic Surgery for Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Procedures

In the researchers' words

This study will compare remote robotic surgery with on-site robotic surgery for patients who need surgery for diseases of the liver, bile duct, gallbladder, or pancreas. Remote robotic surgery means that an experienced surgeon controls the robotic surgical system from a different location, while the patient and the operating room team are at the local hospital. On-site robotic surgery means that the surgeon controls the robotic system in the same hospital as the patient. The main purpose of this study is to find out whether remote robotic surgery is not worse than on-site robotic surgery in terms of surgical success. Surgical success means that the planned robotic operation is completed safely, without unplanned conversion to open surgery or standard laparoscopic surgery, without major unexpected injury, and without serious problems related to the remote robotic system, network, or communication. Eligible patients will be adults who are scheduled to undergo selected robotic hepatobiliary or pancreatic procedures, including hepatectomy, liver segmentectomy, local liver resection, cholecystectomy, pancreaticoduodenectomy, or distal pancreatectomy. Participants will be randomly assigned to either the remote robotic surgery group or the on-site robotic surgery group. The study is single-blind, which means that participants will not know which group they are assigned to, although…