Short- and Long-term Outcomes of Totally Robotic Versus Robotic-assisted Right Hemicolectomy for Colon Cancer: A Retrospective Study

Totally robotic right hemicolectomy (TRRH) is a novel alternative surgical method used for the treatment of colon cancer. The aim of this study was to compare both the short-and long-term outcomes of TRRH and robotic-assisted right hemicolectomy (RARH) for the treatment of colon cancer.We performed a 1:2 matched propensity score analysis. We then retrospectively analyzed all procedures (64 cases TRRH and 128 cases RARH) carried out by a single surgeon between December 4, 2014 and June 20, 2018 at a large center. Both short-and long-term surgical outcomes were compared between 2 different groups.Based on the propensity score matching, we selected 64 patients that had undergone TRRH treatment and 128 patients who had undergone RARH treatment. The preoperative clinical-pathological characteristics were well matched between the 2 groups. We observed no significant differences between the 2 groups in postoperative pathological outcomes. The mean operative time was found to be significantly longer in the TRRH group compared to the RARH group (168.2 ± 9.1 minutes vs 153.4 ± 7.4 minutes, P = .034). The mean operative incision length was found to be significantly longer in the TRRH group than in the RARH group (4.5 ± 0.6 cm vs 6.9 ± 1.1 cm, P = .023). Postoperative pain score (visual analog scale at day 1) was found to be significantly lower in the TRRH group than in the RARH group (2.9 ± 1.3 vs 4.1 ± 2.1, P = .005). The time to pass flatus was observed to be statistically lower in the TRRH group (P = .042). We observed 3 twists of mesentery in the RARH group, while none were observed in the TRRH group (P < .050). Both the 3-year overall survival (TRRH [91.6%] vs RARH [89.2%], P = .467) and the 3-year disease-free survival (TRRH [81.4%] vs RARH [78.2%], P = .551) were determined to be comparable between the 2 groups studied here.We show that TRRH is a safe and feasible treatment option for colon cancer patients in terms of both short- and long-term outcomes. High-volume, randomized, controlled trials with sufficient follow-up studies will need to be carried out in order to confirm this rationale.