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. 2014 Jun 15;6(6):184-93.
doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v6.i6.184.

Robotic surgery for rectal cancer: A systematic review of current practice

Tony Wing Chung Mak  1 , Janet Fung Yee Lee  1 , Kaori Futaba  1 , Sophie Sok Fei Hon  1 , Dennis Kwok Yu Ngo  1 , Simon Siu Man Ng  1
Affiliations

Robotic surgery for rectal cancer: A systematic review of current practice

Tony Wing Chung Mak et al. World J Gastrointest Oncol. .

Abstract

Aim: To give a comprehensive review of current literature on robotic rectal cancer surgery.

Methods: A systematic review of current literature via PubMed and Embase search engines was performed to identify relevant articles from january 2007 to november 2013. The keywords used were: "robotic surgery", "surgical robotics", "laparoscopic computer-assisted surgery", "colectomy" and "rectal resection".

Results: After the initial screen of 380 articles, 20 papers were selected for review. A total of 1062 patients (male 64.0%) with a mean age of 61.1 years and body mass index of 24.9 kg/m(2) were included in the review. Out of 1062 robotic-assisted operations, 831 (78.2%) anterior and low anterior resections, 132 (12.4%) intersphincteric resection with coloanal anastomosis, 98 (9.3%) abdominoperineal resections and 1 (0.1%) Hartmann's operation were included in the review. Robotic rectal surgery was associated with longer operative time but with comparable oncological results and anastomotic leak rate when compared with laparoscopic rectal surgery.

Conclusion: Robotic colorectal surgery has continued to evolve to its current state with promising results; feasible surgical option with low conversion rate and comparable short-term oncological results. The challenges faced with robotic surgery are for more high quality studies to justify its cost.

Keywords: Minimal invasive surgery; Rectal cancer; Rectal surgery; Robotics; Systematic review.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Systematic review Prisma flow diagram.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Robotic pelvic dissection. High definition 3-D view of the pelvis with the right hypogastric nerve (arrow) identified and protected.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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