Robot-assisted Nipple-sparing Mastectomy with Immediate Breast Reconstruction: An Initial Experience

Seeking smaller and indistinct incisions, physicians have attempted endoscopic breast surgery in breast cancer patients. Unfortunately, there are some limitations in the range of movement and visualization of the operation field. Potentially addressing these limitations, we investigated the outcomes of gas and gasless robot-assisted nipple-sparing mastectomy (RANSM) with immediate breast reconstruction (IBR). Ten patients underwent 12 RANSM with IBR between November 2016 and April 2018. Patients with tumors measuring >5 cm in diameter, tumor invasion of the skin or nipple-areolar complex, proven metastatic lymph nodes, or planned radiotherapy were excluded. Age, breast weight, diagnosis, tumor size, hormone receptor status, and operation time were retrospectively collected. Postoperative outcomes including postoperative complications and final margin status of resected were analyzed. The median total operation time and console time were 351 min (267-480 min) and 51 min (18-143 min), respectively. The learning curve presented as a cumulative sum graph showed that the console time decreased and then stabilized at the eighth case. There was no open conversion or major postoperative complication. One patient had self-resolved partial nipple ischemia, and two patients experienced partial skin ischemia. We deemed that RANSM with IBR is safe and feasible for early breast cancer, benign disease of the breast, and BRCA 1/2 mutation carriers. RANSM is an advanced surgical method with a short learning curve.