Open AccessCurrent status of robotic surgery for rectal cancer: A bird′s eye view
Author(s) -
Ajit Pai,
George Melich,
Sławomir Marecik,
John J. Park,
Leela M. Prasad
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of minimal access surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 0972-9941
pISSN - 1998-3921
DOI - 10.4103/0972-9941.147682
Subject(s) - cosmesis , medicine , robotic surgery , randomized controlled trial , bowel function , surgery , laparoscopic surgery , colorectal cancer , total mesorectal excision , perioperative , open surgery , laparoscopy , general surgery , cancer
Minimally invasive surgery for rectal cancer is now widely performed via the laparoscopic approach and has been validated in randomized controlled trials to be oncologically safe with better perioperative outcomes than open surgery including shorter length of stay, earlier return of bowel function, better cosmesis, and less analgesic requirement. Laparoscopic surgery, however, has inherent limitations due to two-dimensional vision, restricted instrument motion and a very long learning curve. Robotic surgery with its superb three-dimensional magnified optics, stable retraction platform and 7 degrees of freedom of instrument movement offers significant benefits during Total Mesorectal Excision (TME) including ease of operation, markedly lower conversion rates and better quality of the specimen in addition to shorter (steeper) learning curves. This review summarizes the current evidence for the adoption of robotic TME for rectal cancer with supporting data from the literature and from the authors' own experience. All relevant articles from PubMed using the search terms listed below and published between 2000 and 2014 including randomized trials, meta-analyses, prospective studies, and retrospective reviews with substantial numbers were included.