Minimally Invasive Liver Surgery: Where Are We Now?

Liver resection is considered one of the most complex and challenging visceral surgical procedures, requiring a strong mastery of anatomical knowledge, pathophysiological understanding, and advanced surgical skills. In general, in addition to technical skills and scientific knowledge on the topic, surgeons should have a thorough understanding of the historical evolution of their speciality to continue to be on top of new scientific discoveries and innovation and to be able to identify valid novel innovative techniques to embrace. Even though surgery is considered by many to be a modern and contemporary speciality, it traces its roots back to the ancient civilisations of Egypt, Greece, and earlier. Surgery has been practised throughout human history in various forms and has been motivated by different philosophies. Since the earliest surgical procedures, our understanding of illness and treatment has dramatically improved. This process ultimately led to the novel, advanced surgical practice of today. Even if modern surgery does not resemble what it did thousands of years ago, our historical predecessors set the groundwork for all the breakthroughs detailed in this book. This chapter provides an overview of the innovations and developments that have led to the implementation of minimally invasive liver surgery.