Robotic versus laparoscopic rectal resection: is there any real difference? A comparative single center study.

Introduction: Robotic surgery has gained worldwide acceptance in the past decade, and several studies have shown that this technique is safe and feasible. The aim of this study is to compare main outcomes of laparoscopic and robotic rectal resection.

Methods: In total, 143 consecutive patients treated for rectal cancer in our department with laparoscopic or robotic-assisted surgery from October 2010 to July 2013 were retrospectively analyzed.

Results: A total of 87 patients underwent laparoscopic rectal resection, and 56 patients were treated using a robotic approach. The conversion rate was 11.5% in the laparoscopic group and 3.5% in the robotics group (P =  0.09). The low rectal cancer conversion rate was significantly lower in the robotic group (1.8%) than in the laparoscopy group (9.2%) (P = 0.04). Mean operation time was 252 min in the laparoscopic group and 309 min in the robotic group (P =  0.023).

Conclusions: The robotic approach shows a lower conversion rate in low rectal cancer but with a longer operative time compared with the laparoscopic technique.