**9. Current results of robotic liver surgery**

Early experiences with using a robot in cholecystectomy demonstrated equivalent results to the laparoscopic approach. These early surgical reports served to show that robotic approaches were feasible for liver surgery [28, 29]. In most institutions robotic cholecystectomy is reserved for those surgeons completing approved training pathways/accreditation before commencing upon more complex procedures. Generally for cholecystectomy robotic surgery does not offer any significant advantage over the laparoscopic approach particularly when cost-benefit is considered. Below we discuss the current results for robotic liver resection. On reviewing the available literature it is evident that there are clear contraindications to the robotic liver surgery including invasion of major hepatic vessels and extension into the diaphragm necessitating diaphragmatic resection. There is no predetermined limit regarding the size of lesions that can be resected but very bulky tumours presented a technical challenge.

