Robotic rectal surgery in Korea: Analysis of a nationwide registry

Abstract

BackgroundThe aim of this study is to analyze the progress and the present state of application of robotic rectal surgery in Korea. MethodsWe used data from patients who underwent robotic, laparoscopic or open approaches for four types of operative procedures between 2006 and 2014: (1) anterior resection (AR), (2) low anterior resection (LAR), (3) intersphincteric resection (ISR) and (4) abdominoperineal resection (APR). ResultsThe number of hospitals performing robotic rectal surgery has increased. Low anterior resection accounts for the largest percentage of robotic surgeries (mean 67.2%), and the number and proportion of ISRs performed robotically have increased rapidly (mean 22.6%). In addition, the dependence on robotic methods for ISR and APR increased rapidly over the study period. ConclusionThe use of robotic rectal surgery has widened over the last decade in Korea, and it has been convergent with surgeries for rectal lesions located near the anal verge.