The study, published in World Journal of Surgical Oncology, showed that patients undergoing robotic surgery experience shorter hospital stays and lower rates of complication on average.
Additionally, they have more lymph nodes harvested and a more accurate determination of what stage the cancer is in, according to a Jan. 4 press release from UT Southwestern.
Patients also had fewer conversions to open surgery necessitated by anatomical challenges and fewer instances of postoperative ileus.
The U.S. sees 150,000 new colorectal cancer cases every year, and robotic surgery for colectomies could continue to offer 3D visualization and a stable camera, improved dexterity and instrument control, and reduced fatigue and hand tremor for physicians.
While laparoscopic and robotic surgery are both minimally invasive, the advanced technology of robots allows for higher-quality views during procedures and better precision and range of motion.
UT Southwestern researchers looked at 53,209 colectomy cases conducted between 2015 and 2020 and determined that 71% of robotic procedures for right colectomies resulted in textbook outcomes compared with 64% of laparoscopic procedures. For left colectomies, the results were 75% and 68%, respectively.
Only low anterior resection procedures fared better with laparoscopy.
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