Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 10, 2026
Robot-assisted Total Mesorectal Excision and Lateral Pelvic Lymph Node Dissection for Locally Advanced Middle-low Rectal Cancer
Published on: February 12, 2022
Laparoscopic versus robotic rectal resection for rectal cancer in a veteran population
Ramiro Fernandez1, Daniel A Anaya, Linda T Li
1Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
Background:
Robotic rectal cancer resection remains controversial. We compared the safety and efficacy of laparoscopic vs robotic rectal cancer resection in a high-risk Veterans Health Administration population.
Methods:
Patients who underwent minimally invasive rectal cancer resection were identified from an institutional colorectal cancer database. Baseline characteristics and outcomes were compared between robotic and laparoscopic groups.
Results:
The robotic group (n = 13) did not differ significantly from the laparoscopic group (n = 59) with respect to baseline characteristics except for a higher rate of previous abdominal surgery. Robotic patients had significantly lower tumors, more advanced disease, a higher rate of preoperative chemoradiation, and were more likely to undergo abdominoperineal resection. Robotic rectal resection was associated with longer operative time. There were no differences in blood loss, conversion rates, postoperative morbidity, lymph nodes harvested, margin positivity, or specimen quality between groups.
Conclusions:
The robotic approach for rectal cancer resection is safe with similar postoperative and oncologic outcomes compared with laparoscopy.
