Effective Warming Cuts Hypothermia in Robotic Rectal Cancer Surgery

Implementing a phased active warming protocol significantly reduces intraoperative hypothermia during Da Vinci robot-assisted rectal cancer resections.

• Hypothermia rates plummeted from 48.6% to 18.1% with active warming (p < 0.001).
• End-of-surgery core temperatures improved by 0.6°C, reducing postoperative shivering (12.5% vs. 34.7%, p < 0.001).

This approach also led to fewer wound infections (4.2% vs. 11.8%, p = 0.022) and shorter hospital stays (8.2 vs. 10.5 days, p < 0.001).