Robotic colorectal surgery: more than a fantastic toy?

There has been a rapid rise in the number of robotic colorectal procedures worldwide since the da Vinci Surgical System robotic technology was approved for surgical procedures in the year 2000. Several recent meta-analyses and systematic reviews have shown a significant difference in outcomes between robotic and laparoscopic rectal cancer surgery. However, these results from pooled data have not been supported by the initial results reported from the Robotic assisted versus laparoscopic assisted resection for rectal cancer trial. In this article, we examine the current evidence for robotic colorectal surgery, assess its features and functionality, evaluate its learning curve and provide our perspective on its future.