Robotic colorectal surgery in elderly patients: a single-centre experience

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to evaluate outcomes in elderly patients (age ≥ 65 years) undergoing robotic colorectal surgery (RCRS) in comparison with non-elderly patients.

Materials and methods: Data was collected on elderly and non-elderly patients who underwent RCRS from a prospectively maintained database.

Results: A total of 89 elderly and 73 non-elderly patients were identified. No statistically significant differences in postoperative complication, reoperation, wound infection, anastomotic leak or mortality were observed. The median length of stay was 1 day longer in elderly patients (p = 0.007). Subgroup analysis of octogenarians demonstrated outcomes that compared favourably with younger patients.

Conclusion: RCRS in elderly patients is safe and effective, with outcomes that do not differ significantly with younger patients. Older age should not be considered to be a specific exclusion criteria for RCRS. To our knowledge, this study represents the largest in the literature to examine outcomes specifically in elderly patients undergoing RCRS.