%0 Journal Article %T Lower Gastrointestinal Surgery: Robotic Surgery versus Laparoscopic Procedures %A Daniel Perez %A Felix Aigner %A Jakob R. Izbicki %A Johann Pratschke %A Julia-Kristin Baukloh %A Matthias Biebl %A Matthias Reeh %J Archive of "Visceral Medicine". %D 2018 %R 10.1159/000486008 %X For a long time, the comprehensive application of minimally invasive techniques in lower gastrointestinal (GI) surgery was substantially impaired by inherent anatomical and technical complexities. Recently, several new techniques such as robotic operating platforms and transanal total mesorectal excision (taTME) have revolutionized the minimally invasive approach. This review aims to depict the current state of the art and evaluates the advantages and drawbacks in regard to perioperative outcome and quality of oncological resection %K Colorectal cancer %K Rectal cancer %K Minimally invasive surgery %K Laparoscopic surgery %K Robotic surgery %U https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5869491/