Da Vinci Single-Port robot-assisted transanal mesorectal excision: a promising preclinical experience

INTRODUCTION: Robotic single-port platforms represent a viable option for advanced surgical procedures. This preclinical study investigated the dual-field, single-port, robot-assisted transanal total mesorectal excision (taTME). TECHNIQUE: In a male human cadaver, we employed the novel da Vinci® SP™ Surgical System, sequentially, to realize the transanal and abdominal parts of the taTME procedure. We evaluated the feasibility of the one-team approach. RESULTS: We showed that single-port access for the taTME was technically feasible with the current da Vinci® SP™ Surgical System in both surgical fields. The total console times were 189 min for the juxta-anal purse-string suture placement, partial intersphincteric resection, and bottom-up mesorectal dissection to where it meets the peritoneal reflection and 43 min for the abdominal procedure. A good quality specimen was achieved. The surgeon comfort was high during simulated surgery. The task load was highly acceptable (NASA-TLX global score: 35), even though it was the surgeon’s first use of this platform. CONCLUSION: This preclinical study demonstrated that the robotic, single-port taTME was feasible and could be performed with the da Vinci® SP™ Surgical System, beginning at the level of the dentate line. Further simulations are necessary to confirm this promising approach. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s00464-020-07444-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.