Minimally invasive surgery for colorectal disease has now become the standard
treatment in Republic of Korea. However, there are limitations to the
laparoscopic approach, such as an unstable camera support, a limited range of
motion, and poor ergonomics. Recent advances in technology have led to the
introduction of robotic surgical systems in colorectal surgery to overcome these
shortcomings. Robot-assisted colorectal surgery has clear advantages in many
aspects. Surgery involving the rectum benefits the most among colorectal
diseases owing to technical difficulties in rectum dissection. The concept of
robotic surgery is not different from laparoscopic surgery in that it is a
minimally invasive surgery, and abundant research demonstrates comparable
results from both modalities for postoperative complications, oncological
outcomes, and functional outcomes. However, the cost of robot-assisted surgery
limits surgeons to performing robotic surgeries in only selected cases.
Improvements regarding cost-effectiveness and more convincing studies that
support benefits of robotic surgery are needed to popularize robot-assisted
colorectal surgery.