Comparison of Robot-assisted Modified Kasai Portoenterostomy With Open Kasai Portoenterostomy for Biliary Atresia

Biliary atresia (BA) is one of the most common cholestatic childhood diseases, with an estimated incidence of 1 in 8000-18,000 live births. BA is a progressive cholangiopathy with fibro-obliterative obstruction of the bile duct. The exact pathogenesis and etiology of BA have not been fully elucidated. The hypothesis that is most widely recognized states that injury to the biliary duct is caused by an initial infection and then an autoimmune response is induced by infection, leading to progressive damage to the biliary duct. Typical clinical manifestations of BA include persistent jaundice, acholic stools, and pigmented urine in the first months after birth. Unfortunately, the presentation time of the clinical features can be delayed in BA, which may lead to misdiagnosis. The average diagnostic age of BA is 60 days in many countries. Currently, effective management for BA is the Kasai portoenterostomy (KPE), which was originally reported by Morio Kasai in 1959. open Kasai portoenterostomy (OKPE) has been introduced to restore bile drainage for patients with BA and become the gold standard. Esteves et al. reported laparoscopic Kasai portoenterostomy (LKPE) for BA in 2002, but its efficacy remains controversial compared with OKPE. Several centers have revealed positive results with modified LKPE procedures. Nonetheless, LKPE is still a complex and challenging procedure with difficulties in fiber block dissection and anastomosis, resulting in a long learning curve. With merits of articulating wrists, 3D imaging field of vision and filter tremor, robotic surgery has been gradually applied to hepatobiliary disorders in children. Theoretically, robotic-assisted Kasai portoenterostomy (RAKPE) may overcome the difficulties of LKPE in fiber block dissection and anastomosis, thereby becoming a better option for BA. Currently, reports of RAKPE in infants with BA are limited to small case series, and its effectiveness remains controversial. However, there were no randomized controlled trials to verify its effectiveness. The objection was to compare the efficacy of Da Vinci robot-assisted with open Kasai portoenterostomy for biliary atresia.