Clinical review of robotic distal pancreatectomy

Robotic distal pancreatectomy (RDP) is being increasingly used in centres with access to the robot and offers technological improvements over conventional laparoscopy. Some studies have also shown superior outcomes compared with laparoscopic and open approaches. However, robotic technology is not widely available currently. This review aims to compare RDP with open and laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy, covering the basics of the RDP technique and highlighting the current nuances of the evidence pertaining to RDP with respect to clinical effectiveness and cost‒benefit analysis.