Considerations on robotic colorectal surgery during a COVID-19 pandemic

Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and its ramifications are currently putting national health care systems around the globe in an exceptional state. Constantly increasing infection and death rates and therefore patients with the need of hospitalization and/or respiratory therapy at intensive care units (ICU) are being reported. Most elective surgical procedures are canceled in order to clear capacity for COVID-19 patients, especially if patients have a predictable need for a postoperative ICU bed. Of course, this poses a dilemma, as some emergencies cannot be delayed until the COVID-19 pandemic will have ended [1,2]. Therefore, this editorial will focus on the question as to whether there is a role (if any) for robotic colorectal cancer surgery during a COVID-19 pandemic.