Short-term Outcomes Following Robotic-assisted Laparoscopic Surgery for Technically Demanding Rectal Cancer

AIM To clarify the benefits of robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery (RALS) regarding short-term outcomes in patients with technically demanding rectal cancer (TDRC). PATIENTS AND METHODS Between April 2015 and September 2019, 88 TDRC cases were identified from our database, and divided into the RALS (n=32) and conventional laparoscopic surgery (CLS) (n=56) groups. TDRC was defined as mid-rectal tumors presenting at least one of the following risk factors: Male sex, high body mass index, T4 stage, bulky tumor, or low rectal tumor. RESULTS Patient baseline characteristics were similar in both groups. One and 15 patients developed anastomotic leakage in the RALS and CLS groups (3% vs. 27%, p