Jefferson Hospital Successfully Conducts First Robot-Assisted Distal Pancreatectomy

Thomas Jefferson University Hospital for the first time conducted a da Vinci robot-based distal pancreatectomy and splenectomy for Eugene Allen, a 60-year-old patient diagnosed with precancerous cyst in his pancreas.

The procedure for treating pancreatic tumors and cysts, ‘distal pancreatectomy’ involves removal of body and tail of the pancreas, usually together with the entire spleen. Robot-assisted distal pancreatectomy was conducted in only a few centers in the U.S.

Using robotic arms, a surgeon conducts subtle operations via tiny incisions. Through these small incisions, high-definition 3-D camera, miniaturized wristed cyst or tumor removing instruments can be introduced within the body for an effective surgery.

Surgeons at the Center have expertise in achieving pancreatic and related procedures in which the success of clinical studies show high rate while conducted at high-tech centers like Jefferson.

Jefferson surgeons conduct over 200 pancreatic resections as well as dozens of distal and central pancreatectomies and over 120 pancreaticoduodenectomies, aka Whipple procedures.

Cysts can be precancerous, cancer or benign, and denote a red flag. Early diagnosis increases the patient’s chances of preventing the onset of pancreatic cancer.

Around 80% pancreatic cancer diagnoses include patients with cancer at advanced stages. The remaining 20% of people include those detected early with cancerous growth that can be treated with surgical procedures.

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