Da Vinci Robotic System in the surgery for mediastinal bronchogenic cyst: a report on five patients

To present the results of the patients with mediastinal bronchogenic cysts that underwent robotic surgery using Da Vinci Robotic System in our institution.

Five patients with mediastinal bronchogenic cyst undergoing robotic resection between October 2011 and September 2015 were retrospectively evaluated. Their pre-, peri- and post-operative results were investigated.

There were five patients (male/female: 3/2) with a mean age of 43±28 years. Three patients (60%) were asymptomatic. The lesions had been detected in the remaining two patients during the investigation of cough and abdominal pain. All the lesions were located at the posterior mediastinum. The mean diameter of lesion was 48±17 mm. One patient underwent robotic decortication in addition to robotic cystectomy. Operative times are outlined as: mean docking time 20±12 min, mean console time 63±32 min, and mean operating time 88±41 min. The mean length of stay was 3.6±2.2 days. There was no mortality or morbidity.

Bronchogenic cyst is among the commonest congenital lesions. The treatment is surgical resection, and mostly via thoracotomy and video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS). There exist less than 15 patients who underwent robotic resection in the English literature, and most of them are presented as single case reports. Robotic resection of mediastinal bronchogenic cysts could be considered as a safe method.