Comparison of short-term outcomes between Chinese surgical robot “Micro Hand S” assisted and laparoscopic total mesorectal excision for rectal cancer: a retrospective study

Background As the first domestically produced Chinese surgical robot for clinical use, the Micro Hand S robot has been applied to total mesorectal excision (TME) for rectal cancer in our center since 2017. The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and feasibility of the Micro Hand S robot-assisted TME (R-TME) in comparison with laparoscopic TME (L-TME).Methods Between May 2017 and February 2018, patients who underwent R-TME and L-TME in the Third Xiangya Hospital were included in this study. The data including intraoperative outcomes, postoperative outcomes, pathological outcomes, and functional outcomes were analyzed and compared. Results Totally, 30 patients underwent L-TME and 21 patients underwent R-TME. The patient characteristics of the two groups were similar. Regarding intraoperative and postoperative outcomes, the R-TME group had significantly less blood loss (95.2 vs. 130.0 ml, p = 0.022), shorter time to first flatus (2.1 vs. 2.9 d, p = 0.017) and first liquid intake (2.8 vs. 3.7 d, p = 0.027) than the L-TME group. There was no significant difference in the operative time, conversion, protective ileostomy, length of hospital stay, pain score, complications, and 30-day mortality between the two groups (p > 0.05). In addition, the pathological and functional outcomes also did not differ significantly.Conclusion The Micro Hand S robot-assisted total mesorectal excision is safe and feasible with short-term outcomes comparable to laparoscopic surgery. Prospective and large sample size trials are needed to further confirm this conclusion.