Robot-Assisted Pancreaticoduodenectomy with Hemicircumferential Dissection of Nerve Plexus Around the Superior Mesenteric Artery

Pancreatic head cancer with perineural invasion of the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) requires dissection of the nerve plexus around the SMA (PLsma, superior mesenteric nerve plexus) to obtain cancer-free margins.^1,2 Technically challenging robot-assisted pancreaticoduodenectomy with PLsma resection is rarely performed owing to the technical limitations of the robot. In this multimedia article, we present our approach to robot-assisted pancreaticoduodenectomy with PLsma dissection.^3–5

We performed a robot-assisted pancreaticoduodenectomy with resection of the hemicircle of the PLsma in a 78-year-old woman with resectable pancreatic cancer extending to the root of the inferior pancreaticoduodenal artery. In this video, we show how to obtain an optimal view using the multiple scope transition method,⁴ and technical tips to perform a PLsma dissection with a robot to perform this difficult surgery safely.

The operative time was 568 min and 300 mL of blood was lost. The pathological diagnosis was invasive pancreatic ductal carcinoma with lymph node metastasis, and R0 resection was performed. The distance margin from the SMA was 2 mm. The patient was discharged on the 18th postoperative day without postoperative complications.

Robot-assisted pancreaticoduodenectomy with dissection of the hemicircle of the PLsma, which is difficult to perform, can be performed safely with an optimal view using the multiple-scope transition method, and delicate dissection using a robot.