Robotic versus laparoscopic right hemicolectomy: a retrospective single-center comparative cohort study

We compared perioperative outcomes after robotic (rRC) and laparoscopic right hemicolectomy (lapRC) and assessed temporal changes in surgical approach and minimally invasive completion. This retrospective cohort included patients operated between January 2023 and March 2026. Primary outcomes were operative duration, open conversion, and 30-day morbidity. The main comparison was unadjusted, supplemented by elective and propensity-score-matched analyses. Temporal trends included all screened patients, including primary open procedures. A total of 221 patients were analyzed, including 122 rRC and 99 lapRC procedures. Median operative duration was greater with rRC than with lapRC (264 vs. 200 min, p < 0.001), whereas conversion to an open procedure occurred less frequently after rRC (4% vs. 20%, p < 0.001). Overall morbidity (28% vs. 35%, p = 0.246) and major complications (12% vs. 12%, p = 1) did not differ significantly. Median lymph-node yield in carcinoma resections was 26 versus 25 (p = 0.249). The conversion difference was not statistically significant in the overall elective cohort or the matched analysis of 32 pairs. Across all 390 screened patients, increasing robotic use coincided with decreasing primary open surgery (p = 0.014), while the increase in minimally invasive completion was not statistically significant (p = 0.075). Robotic right hemicolectomy may offer an advantage in reducing conversion to open surgery, although operative duration was longer. This potential benefit requires confirmation, given baseline differences and the limited size of the matched cohort.