Short-term outcomes in patients with colon cancer treated with robotic right colectomy

To report a single surgeon series of consecutive robotic right colectomies (RRC) performed for non-metastatic right colon cancer.

A retrospective review of a prospectively maintained database of patients who underwent elective robotic right colectomy for right colon adenocarcinoma was conducted. Patients with stage 0-III disease were included in the study. Outcomes evaluated included operative time, number of lymph nodes harvested, estimated blood loss, time to return of bowel function, length of hospital stay, complications and a minimum of 6-month follow up.

Forty-five consecutive patients were included in this study. The mean operative time was 175 min, the mean lymph nodes harvested were 22 and the mean length of hospital stay was 5 days. The mean time to normal bowel function restoration and to discontinuation of patient-controlled analgesia was 2 days. The hospital post-operative courses were complicated in two patients by ileus and fever due to pulmonary atelectasia, respectively. No conversions to laparotomy, reoperations or 90-day deaths were recorded.

Robotic colorectal surgery has gained a lot of supporters through the years although a debate still exists concerning the outcomes. The present study is one of the largest evaluating short-term results of RRCs performed by a single surgeon. We believe we demonstrated the safety and efficacy of RRC in the treatment of right colon nonmetastatic adenocarcinoma.