Early adoption of robotic lung resection in an established video assisted thoracic surgery practice

Abstract

Background: Reported advantages to robotic thoracic surgery include shorter length of stay (LOS), improved lymphadenectomy, and decreased complications. It is uncertain if these benefits occur when introducing robotics into a well-established video-assisted thoracoscopy (VATS) practice. We compared the two approaches to investigate these advantages. Materials and methods: IRB approval was obtained for this project. Patients who underwent segmentectomy or lobectomy from May 2016–December 2018 were propensity-matched 2: 1 (VATS: robotic) and compared using weighted logistic regression with age, gender, Charlson Comorbidity Index, surgery type, stage, Exparel, and epidural as covariates. Complication rates, operation times, number of sampled lymph nodes, pain level, disposition, and LOS were compared using Wilcoxon rank-sum and with Rao-Scott Chi-squared tests. Results: 213 patients (142 VATS and 71 robot) were matched. Duration of robotic cases was longer than VATS (median 186 min (IQR 78) vs. 164 min (IQR 78.75); p 0.05). Conclusions: The robotic approach facilitates better lymph node sampling, even in an established VATS practice.

Keywords

• VATS
• Robotic-assisted thoracic surgery
• Lung resection