Robotic colorectal cancer surgery in the elderly – a monocentric analysis of short- term postoperative outcomes in patients ≥ 75 years versus <75 years

Abstract

Introduction Colorectal cancer is increasingly prevalent in the elderly. We aimed to investigate the short-term postoperative outcomes in robotic colorectal cancer surgery in an elderly (≥ 75 years) versus a non-elderly (< 75 years) patient group. Materials and Methods 228 patients (61 patients > 75yrs vs. 167 < 75yrs) with confirmed colorectal cancer, operated between 10/17 and 05/22 with the Da Vinci X system, were identified. Short-term postoperative outcomes were compared using the Chi-squared/Fisher’s exact or Wilcoxon test. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results No statistical differences were observed in any of the outcomes looked at between our two patient groups, nor overall, nor analyzing left- or right-sided resections separately. Looking at left resections, operative time was shorter in the elderly group (314.66 min vs. 327.76 min, p = 0.347) whereas length of stay was over a day longer (7.72 vs. 6.08, p = 0.054), however, the differences observed did not reach statistical significance. Anastomotic leak, re-admission and re-operation rates in left resections were all higher in the non-elderly group (11% vs. 0%, p = 0.075; 8.1% vs. 3.4%, p = 0.694; 3.7% vs. 0%, p = 0.588), however, all not statistically significant. Looking at right resections, operative time was non significantly shorter in the elderly group (239.13 min vs. 259.81, p = 0.363), whereas length of stay was nearly identical (5.63 days vs. 5.52 days, p = 0.867). Conclusion Our Study results suggest that robotic colorectal cancer surgery is safe and feasible in elderly patients. Elderly patients demonstrated comparable outcomes to the non-elderly group in terms of operative times and short-term postoperative outcomes.