Dear Colleagues,

Colon and rectal cancer surgery have rapidly adopted robotic platforms as substitutes for laparoscopy. This major step towards the so-called digital surgery era is of great interest to surgeons, institutions, and patients. Moreover, since the development of the da Vinci Robotic Surgical System®, the industry has introduced new robotic platforms and instruments, which are rapidly populating surgical theaters. The robotic platform was specifically developed to compensate for the technical limitations of laparoscopic instruments. Few studies have demonstrated major benefits of the robotic platform in colorectal surgery, besides better perioperative outcomes. As such, the question of why surgeons should adopt an expensive machine with a new learning curve, which is often posed by those who oppose modern surgical techniques, must be thoroughly addressed through studies conducted by robotic surgeons. 

We invite authors who are active in robotic colorectal oncological research to contribute reviews or original articles on: the adoption of modern robotic platforms (such as da Vinci SP, da Vinci Xi, Versius, Hugo, and SSI Mantra); new developments in modern robotic techniques (such as complete mesocolic excision, lateral pelvic lymphadenectomy, intersphincteric resection, abdominoperineal resection, and transanal transection and single-stapled anastomosis (TTSS)); the adoption of new robotic instruments (such as robotic staplers, cameras, energy devices); training programs for robotic colorectal surgery; the learning curve of novice surgeons ("robotic generation") and senior surgeons ("pre-robotic generation”); the adoption of robotic mimicking instruments (i.e., ArtiSential articulated instruments) for colorectal oncological surgery; the adoption of robotic platforms for resolving intraoperative complications during colorectal surgery (i.e., intraoperative bleeding); the adoption of AI in robotic colorectal surgery; the use of ICG during robotic colorectal surgery; reviews on modern colorectal robotic surgery trials; robotic surgery as the only affordable approach in a surgeon-depleted future.


Dr. Guglielmo Niccolò Piozzi
Prof. Dr. Oktar Asoglu
Prof. Dr. Avanish Saklani
Prof. Dr. Jim S. Khan
Guest Editors

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• colorectal cancer
• surgical techniques
• robotic surgery
• robotic platform
• intersphincteric resection
• lateral pelvic lymphadenectomy
• complete mesocolic excision
• robotic mimicking instruments
• robotic training
• digital surgery