Arthur Rawlings

Peoria campus of the University of Illinois System, University of Illinois Chicago, Illinois College

Papers

Total Citations

352

H-Index

About

Arthur Rawlings is a surgical innovator whose career has been defined by a pioneering commitment to robotic and minimally invasive colorectal surgery. Working at the forefront of a transformative era in operative technique, Rawlings has dedicated his research to evaluating the safety, feasibility, and clinical outcomes of robotic-assisted colectomy at a time when the technology was still finding its footing in mainstream surgical practice. His most influential work, "Robotic versus laparoscopic colectomy" (2007), has garnered 237 citations and stands as a foundational comparative study in the field, helping surgeons understand the trade-offs between these competing approaches. His early series on telerobotic surgery for right and sigmoid colectomies, cited nearly 100 times, further established the procedural groundwork for robot-assisted colon resection. Notably, Rawlings championed the single-surgeon robotic colectomy model, documenting 70 consecutive cases to demonstrate reproducibility outside major academic centers. Through his "Peoria Experience," he also raised thoughtful questions about whether rapid technological adoption outpaces rigorous clinical scrutiny — a nuanced perspective that makes his body of work as intellectually honest as it is technically significant.