Numerous comparison studies on the outcomes of robotic and laparoscopic surgery in the treatment of rectal cancer have been undertaken and reported. But there aren't many studies that compare the safety and effectiveness of the two surgery procedures used to treat people with mid and low rectal cancer who have different body mass indexes (BMIs). This study was done to organize the clinical data we had at our hospital so we could compare the perioperative effectiveness of two minimally invasive approaches for people with different BMIs.

Inclusion Criteria:

The inclusion decision was made based on the following criteria: the results of the preoperative evaluation revealed the existence of adenocarcinoma in the middle to lower rectum (less than 10 centimeters distant from the anal edge); received a drastic operation that might have been laparoscopic or robotic and was based on the principle of TME; distant metastases that are non-conformist or heteroclinic, and there are no additional malignant tumors present at the same time as the operation.

Exclusion Criteria:

a high tumor location that was more than 10 centimeters away from the anal margin; surgery was unsuccessful in completing anal preservation due to invasion of the external anal sphincter; cancerous obstruction or perforation; severe cardiopulmonary dysfunction classified as stage IV according to the ASA score; and poor preoperative anal function; any resection that is performed in combination, rather than being a R0 resection.

The clinical records of patients who had laparoscopic or robotic proctectomy at Northern Jiangsu People's Hospital between December 2019 and August 2023 were analyzed in order to conduct research utilizing a retrospective research technique.