Current status and pondering of minimally-invasive surgical techniques in radical resection of hilar cholangiocarcinoma / 中华消化外科杂志

ABSTRACT

Hilar cholangiocarcinoma is one difficultly-treated biliary malignancy with poor prognosis, and radical resection offers the only hope of cure for the disease. In recent years, with development and maturation of minimally-invasive techniques, laparoscopic or robotic-assisted radical resection of hilar cholangiocarcinoma has been attempted in some major medical centers. Laparoscopic and robotic-assisted radical resection of hilar cholangiocarcinoma is technically safe and feasible at present, but there is still a lack of large number of case report and evaluation of long-term survival of patients. Based on previous literatures and combined with clinical experiences, the author elaborates on the application status of laparoscopic and robot surgical system in the radical resection of hilar cholangiocarcinoma, and discusses the key issues that should be paid attention to in carrying out this technology, such as the operator′s prerequisite requirement and patients′ selec-tion, how to ensure the radicality of surgical resection and improve the long-term outcomes.