Robotic Versus Laparoscopic Versus Open Surgery for Rectal Cancer.

Background

Surgery for rectal cancer has evolved, with the adoption of minimally invasive and robotic techniques. This study evaluates whether robotic surgery for rectal cancer produces an improvement in perioperative and oncological outcomes compared with open and laparoscopic surgery in a retrospective analysis.

Methods

A single-center retrospective study included 212 patients with histologically confirmed rectal cancer treated between 2012 and 2021. The patients were grouped by surgical approach: robotic (RR, n = 62), laparoscopic (LR, n = 68), and open resection (OR, n = 82). The primary endpoints were total mesorectal excision (TME) quality, operative time, and hospital stay. The secondary endpoints included the lymph node yield, the conversion rate, and the 5-year survival outcomes (OS and DFS), analyzed via Kaplan-Meier curves and proportional hazards models.

Results

The TME quality was high across the groups (RR: 91.9%, LR: 86.8%, OR: 95.1%). The median operative time was the longest in the RR group (304 min vs. 221-222 min in LR/OR). Robotic surgery resulted in shorter median hospital stays (10 (RR) vs. 14 (LR) vs. 14 (OR) days) and a lower conversion rate (3.2% vs. 14.7% in LR). The lymph node yield was highest in the LR group (27.9), followed by the RR (25.5) and OR (23.0) groups. Postoperative pneumonia was most common in the OR group (12.2%), and bladder dysfunction occurred only in the OR group (4.9%). The five-year OS and DFS did not differ notably between the groups.

Conclusions

Robotic surgery offers advantages in short-term outcomes, including fewer complications, shorter hospitalization, and lower conversion rates, despite longer operative times. Its oncological efficacy is equal compared to those of laparoscopic and open surgery.