Although a great deal of progress has been made over the past few decades, the exact nature and contribution of molecular, immunologic, and microbiological factors remain unclear. It is hoped that future studies will focus on attempting to resolve some of the issues highlighted in this review.

No abstract

Robotic rectal resection has similar clinical outcomes to that of the conventional laparoscopic approach. Despite the higher operative costs of robotic rectal resection, overall mean costs were similar in our series.