Short-Term Outcomes of Robotic-Assisted Sigmoidectomy Using the Senhance Digital Laparoscopy System: A Comparison With Laparoscopic Surgery Using Propensity Score Matching

Background Colorectal cancer is a common and deadly form of cancer. Sigmoid colon cancer is the most prevalent type of colon cancer. Robotic-assisted surgical systems, like the Senhance Digital Laparoscopy System, have attracted considerable attention in recent years. The purpose of this study was to confirm the non-inferiority of Senhance-assisted surgery regarding its short-term safety compared with conventional laparoscopic surgery for sigmoid colon cancer. Methods This retrospective single-center study analyzed data from patients undergoing a sigmoidectomy between March 2020 and 2025. Propensity score matching was employed to create comparable groups. Patient characteristics, short-term surgical outcomes, and pathological data were assessed. Postoperative complications were graded using the Clavien-Dindo system. Results Prior to propensity score matching, there were differences in cancer stage between groups. After matching, two groups comprising 45 patients each were comparable across various factors. The operative time was significantly longer in the Senhance-assisted group compared with the conventional laparoscopic surgery group (236 min vs 204 min, P = .001), underscoring the importance of optimizing surgical techniques. Postoperative Numerical Rating Scale pain scores were significantly lower in the Senhance-assisted group on day 1 (3 [1-5] vs 4 [2-6], P = .03) and day 3 (2 [0-4] vs 3 [2-5], P = .02). However, no there were no significant differences in blood loss, complications, or pathological characteristics between the groups. Conclusions This study demonstrated that Senhance-assisted sigmoidectomy was non-inferior to conventional laparoscopic surgery in terms of short-term safety outcomes.