An estimated 25% of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) present with distant metastases at the time of diagnosis, the most common site being the liver. Controversy exists regarding the safety of a simultaneous versus staged approach to resections in these patients, but reports have shown that minimally invasive surgery (MIS) approaches can mitigate morbidity. This is the rst study utilizing a large national database to investigate colorectal and hepatic procedure-speci c risks in robotic simultaneous resections for CRC and colorectal liver metastases (CRLM). Utilizing the ACS-NSQIP targeted colectomy, proctectomy, and hepatectomy les, 1,550 patients were identi ed who underwent simultaneous resections of CRC and CRLM from 2016-2020. Of these patients, 311 (20%) underwent resections by an MIS approach, de ned as an either laparoscopic (n = 241, 78%) or robotic (n = 70, 23%). Patients who underwent robotic resections had lower rates of ileus compared to those who had an open surgery. The robotic group had similar rates of 30-day anastomotic leak, bile leak, hepatic failure, and post operative invasive hepatic procedures compared to both the open and laparoscopic groups. The rate of conversion to open was signi cantly lower for robotic compared to laparoscopic group (9% vs. 22%, p = 0.012). This report is the largest study to date of robotic simultaneous CRC and CRLM resections reported in the literature and supports the safety and potential bene ts of this approach.
INTRODUCTONApproximately 20-25% of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) present with metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis [1]. For patients with resectable colorectal liver metastases (CRLM), surgical resection is the preferred treatment modality with a 5-year overall survival (OS) rate of 38% and median OS of 3.6 years [2]. Resection can be performed in a simultaneous or staged approach, although controversy exists in the literature regarding the safety of a simultaneous resection [3][4][5]. Recent small case reports and institutional series have reported on the bene ts of minimally invasive liver surgery (MILS) in simultaneous resections, including decreased length of stay (LOS), lower blood loss, and decreased overall hospital costs compared to an open approach [4, 6]. The aim of this study was to report on procedure-speci c outcomes of robotic simultaneous CRC and CRLM resections from a national database.
METHODSAdult patients with CRC who underwent simultaneous colorectal and liver resections between 2016 and 2020 were identi ed from the colectomy, proctectomy, and hepatectomy-targeted American College of Surgeons (ACS) National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) les. Further strati cations were made based on operative approach (laparoscopic, robotic, or planned open) and risk of procedure.Consistent with prior risk strati cations reported in the literature patients were divided into high-risk or low-risk groups based on the overall 30-day postoperative morbidity of the procedures performed [7]. High risk colorectal procedures w...