RESUMO
One of the concerns specific to minimally invasive donor hepatectomy (MIDH) is the prolonged time required for graft extraction after completion of the donor hepatectomy (donor warm ischemia time [DWIT]). There has never been an objective evaluation of minimally invasive donor hepatectomy-DWIT on allograft function in living donor liver transplantation. We evaluated the effect of DWIT following robotic donor hepatectomy (RDH) on recipient outcomes and compared them with a matched cohort of open donor hepatectomy (ODH). Demographic, perioperative, and recipient's postoperative outcome data for all right lobe (RL)-RDH performed between September 2019 and July 2023 were analyzed and compared with a propensity score matched cohort (1:1) of RL-ODH from the same time period. Of a total of 103 RL-RDH and 446 RL-ODH, unmatched and propensity score matched analysis (1:1) revealed a significantly longer DWIT in the RDH group as compared to the ODH group (9.33 ± 3.95 vs 2.87 ± 2.13, P < .0001). This did not translate into any difference in the rates of early allograft dysfunction (EAD), biliary complications, major morbidity, or overall 1-and 3-month survival. The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis threshold for DWIT-early allograft dysfunction was 9 minutes (area under receiver operating characteristic: 0.67, sensitivity = 80%, specificity = 53.8%). We show that prolonged DWIT within an acceptable range in RDH does not have deleterious effects on short-term recipient outcomes. Further long-term studies are required to confirm our findings, especially with regard to nonanastomotic biliary complications.