Robotic surgery for colorectal cancer in the Octogenarians.

Abstract

We evaluated the short-term outcomes of robotic colorectal cancer surgery in octogenarian patients, focussing on postoperative morbidity and survival. All patients ≥80years in a prospective colorectal cancer database undergoing robotic curative colorectal cancer resection were included. Patient demographics, intraoperative findings, postoperative and oncological outcomes were recorded. Patients were further subdivided into two groups named: old (OG80-85years) and very old (VOG≥86years). Fifty-eight consecutive patients were included (median age, 83years; male, 53.4%; median BMI, 26.5). Median total operative time was 230min, median blood loss 20ml, median length of stay 7days. Major complications were seen in 12% of patients; and the 90-day mortality rate was 1.7%. Complete R0 resection achieved in 93% of cases, average lymph node harvest was 22. Overall and disease-free survival was 81% and 87.3%, respectively (median follow-up 24.5months). We noticed a trend towards more advanced lesion staging in the VOG, but only N2 stage was significant (p=0.03). There was a statistically significant difference in overall survival in favour of the OG (p=0.024). Robotic surgery is feasible in octogenarian patients undergoing curative colorectal cancer resection and is associated with good post-operative outcomes and overall survival.