ArticleCureus2026
Safety and Learning Curve of Robotic Rectal Surgery Performed by Young Non-Endoscopic Surgical Skill Qualification System (ESSQS)-Qualified Surgeons: A Single-Center Retrospective Study.
Article in Cureus, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe number of robotic rectal surgeries being performed in Japan is rapidly increasing. Therefore, the training of young surgeons in robotic rectal surgery has received significant attention. We herein examined the safety and short-term clinical outcomes of robotic rectal surgery performed by young non-Endoscopic Surgical Skill Qualification System (ESSQS)-qualified surgeons.
methodsPatients who underwent robotic surgery for rectal cancer between November 2019 and October 2023 were included. Robot-assisted rectal surgeries were performed from February 2022 by two young non-ESSQS-qualified surgeons. Young surgeons were defined as those within 12 years after medical graduation. The clinical outcomes of robotic rectal surgery performed by non-ESSQS-qualified surgeons and by qualified surgeons were evaluated. Patients who received preoperative chemoradiotherapy or required complex procedures were excluded.
resultsA total of 269 patients underwent robotic surgery for rectal cancer, and 178 were investigated. We included 35 (19.7%) and 143 (80.3%) patients who underwent robotic surgery by non-ESSQS-qualified surgeons and qualified surgeons, respectively. Median total operative time was longer in the non-qualified group (334 vs. 285 minutes, p<0.001), but postoperative complication rates (6% vs. 10%, p=0.67) and hospital stay (10 vs. 10 days, p=0.85) were similar.
conclusionsRobotic rectal surgery by young non-ESSQS-qualified surgeons appears feasible with acceptable short-term outcomes, though longer operative times and the need for proctor supervision should be considered.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.