<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Surgical treatment of rectal cancer is still difficult even in big centers. The limited pelvic space, problematic operative exposure, complex surgeries with more common anastomotic complications make the results unsatisfying. After the concept of total mesorectal excision (TME) was introduced by Heald, the results have improved dramatically. Advances in technology added further excitement about awaited promising results. Surgeons tried to apply all new methods to search for the best treatment: – atraumatic, painless, safe, with low recurrence rates, fast recovery, with an acceptable price, and easy to learn or teach. Robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery (RALS) was introduced to overcome the limitations of conventional laparoscopic and open surgery and improve on their main advantages.</p><p>A non-systematic literature review on the articles on RALS in the PubMed and Scopus database was performed. RALS, robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery, and rectal cancer keywords were used. The search was restricted to articles in English, with main endpoints of interest on short-term and long-term surgical results and oncological outcomes. Fifty-seven articles from Europe, the USA, and Asia were identified. RALS was tried in large series in patients with different pathology and showed its values. However, there are still many controversies on its superiority, cost, and advantages. RALS is safe and efficient in experienced hands. It could be superior to conventional laparoscopic surgery (CLS). Its advantages in oncological outcomes over CLS are to be proven in structured randomized clinical trials (RCTs).</p></abstract>

Surgical treatment of rectal cancer is still difficult even in big centers. The limited pelvic space, problematic operative exposure, complex surgeries with more common anastomotic complications make the results unsatisfying. After the concept of total mesorectal excision (TME) was introduced by Heald, the results have improved dramatically. Advances in technology added further excitement about awaited promising results. Surgeons tried to apply all new methods to search for the best treatment: – atraumatic, painless, safe, with low recurrence rates, fast recovery, with an acceptable price, and easy to learn or teach. Robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery (RALS) was introduced to overcome the limitations of conventional laparoscopic and open surgery and improve on their main advantages.A non-systematic literature review on the articles on RALS in the PubMed and Scopus database was performed. RALS, robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery, and rectal cancer keywords were used. The search was restricted to articles in English, with main endpoints of interest on short-term and long-term surgical results and oncological outcomes. Fifty-seven articles from Europe, the USA, and Asia were identified. RALS was tried in large series in patients with different pathology and showed its values. However, there are still many controversies on its superiority, cost, and advantages. RALS is safe and efficient in experienced hands. It could be superior to conventional laparoscopic surgery (CLS). Its advantages in oncological outcomes over CLS are to be proven in structured randomized clinical trials (RCTs).

Robotic-Assisted Laparoscopic Surgery for Rectal Cancer (RALS): A Review of the Literature

Dr. Georgi Stranski University Hospital - Pleven

Medical University – Pleven Department of Surgical Propaedeutics, Medical University – Pleven

Journal of Biomedical and Clinical Research

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Surgical treatment of rectal cancer is still difficult even in big centers. The limited pelvic space, problematic operative exposure, complex surgeries with...

Robotic-Assisted Laparoscopic Surgery for Rectal Cancer (RALS): A Review of the Literature

Published Online: Jan 21, 2021

Page range: 100 - 109

Received: Oct 20, 2020

Accepted: Dec 11, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jbcr-2020-0014

Keywords
rectal cancer, robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery, RALS, literature review

© 2020 Emil T. Filipov et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Robotic-Assisted Laparoscopic Surgery for Rectal Cancer (RALS): A Review of the Literature

Published Online: Jan 21, 2021

Page range: 100 - 109

Received: Oct 20, 2020

Accepted: Dec 11, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jbcr-2020-0014

Keywordsrectal cancer, robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery, RALS, literature review

© 2020 Emil T. Filipov et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
rectal cancer, robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery, RALS, literature review