Robotic Lateral Pelvic Lymph Node Dissection for Advanced Rectal Cancer: Bridging Eastern Surgical Precision and...

Background: Management of lateral pelvic lymph node (LPLN) metastasis in advanced lower rectal cancer has historically exemplified a fundamental East-West divide. In Japan, the Japanese Society for Cancer of the Colon and Rectum (JSCCR) considers LPLN metastasis a regional manifestation requiring lateral pelvic lymph node dissection (LPLND). In contrast, Western practice has long approached LPLN disease as systemic, prioritizing neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) followed by total mesorectal excision (TME) without additional lateral clearance. Recent Advances: Evidence generated from the JCOG0212 trial and subsequent multicenter cohorts has firmly demonstrated that LPLND markedly reduces lateral local recurrence, particularly in patients with radiologically enlarged nodes. These findings have contributed to a paradigm shift: the 2025 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Guidelines now endorse selective LPLND for suspicious nodes following neoadjuvant therapy, indicating an emerging convergence between Eastern surgical philosophy and Western multimodal treatment strategies. Surgical Innovation: Robotic surgery has transformed the technical execution of LPLND. Its stable, high-definition three-dimensional visualization, wristed instruments, and enhanced precision enable meticulous dissection across four anatomically defined planes: the medial plane (uretero-hypogastric fascia), intermediate plane (vesico-hypogastric fascia), lateral plane (pelvic sidewall), and dorsal plane (pelvic floor and lumbosacral trunk/sacral plexus). These features facilitate consistent nerve-sparing surgery, reduce blood loss, and improve postoperative urinary and sexual function compared with conventional laparoscopy or open approaches. Robotic LPLND therefore represents a contemporary synthesis of Eastern surgical precision and Western evidence-based multimodal therapy-offering an integrated pathway toward optimized oncologic control and enhanced functional outcomes.