A massive retrospective analysis of over 83,000 emergency colorectal surgeries from the ACS-NSQIP database (2012–2021) shows robotic-assisted surgery significantly outperforms both laparoscopic and open approaches in select cases. Robotic procedures had fewer surgical complications, a shorter hospital stay, and far lower conversion rates to open surgery (7.8% vs. 24.2%). Adoption of robotic platforms grew from 0% to 6.6% during the study period—and is projected to rise to over 20% by 2025.
While robotic surgery is typically reserved for clinically stable patients—such as those with diverticulitis or non-septic cancer—it’s increasingly seen as a viable option even in emergency settings.