RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Traditional trocar systems suffer from several innate flaws due to their silicone seal design. The AirSeal® is a valve-less trocar system that overcomes these flaws by utilizing a system of laminar flow and CO2 recirculation. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of the AirSeal® versus a traditional trocar system in operative time, EBL and post-operative complications. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first analysis of this system in robotic colorectal surgery. METHODS: A single surgeon's database was reviewed and all LAR and right hemicolectomy robotic cases from 2014-2015 and 2017-2018 were included for analysis. Patient demographic information was evaluated and primary outcomes examined were operative time, EBL, post-operative complications and hospital LOS. RESULTS: Ninety four patients were identified in the LAR cohort and 56 patients were identified in the right hemicolectomy cohort. Mean operative time for LAR was 293 ± 91.6 min in 2014-2015 and 232 ± 74.6 min in 2017-2018 (p = 0.001); however, this significant difference was not seen between right hemicolectomies. Mean EBL for LAR was 209 ± 189 cc in 2014-2015 and 150 ± 173.9 cc in 2017-2018 (p = 0.05); again, this significant difference was not appreciated for right hemicolectomies. There was no statistically significant difference in rates of wound infections, pneumonia, post-operative pneumonia, DVT/PE, intra-abdominal/pelvic abscesses, or unplanned 30-day readmission rate between 2014-2015 and 2017-2018. Length of stay was reduced in both populations between 2014-2015 and 2017-2018; however, it neither reached statistical significance. CONCLUSION: In patients undergoing low anterior resections, the AirSeal® trocar system demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in mean operative time and EBL compared to the traditional trocar system. There was also a trend towards decreased length of stay and post-operative complications with AirSeal® use in low anterior resections and right hemicolectomies. In patients undergoing distal colorectal procedures, the AirSeal® trocar system should be considered.