Early experience with uniportal robotic thoracic surgery lobectomy

Area of Science:

• Thoracic Surgery
• Surgical Oncology
• Minimally Invasive Surgery

Background:

• Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) is standard for pulmonary resections.
• Robotic-assisted thoracic surgery (RATS) is increasingly preferred but often uses multiple ports.
• Uniportal VATS (U-VATS) offers a highly minimally invasive alternative.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present early experience with uniportal robotic-assisted thoracic surgery (U-RATS) for early-stage lung cancer.
• To describe the technical aspects of U-RATS pulmonary resections.
• To evaluate the safety and feasibility of the U-RATS approach.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 24 consecutive patients undergoing U-RATS anatomical pulmonary resections.
• All procedures performed using a single uniportal approach.
• Detailed documentation of surgical steps and outcomes.

Main Results:

• All 24 procedures were successfully completed using the uniportal robotic approach.
• Mean operative time decreased significantly with experience, indicating a rapid learning curve.
• Postoperative pain scores were low and comparable to U-VATS.

Conclusions:

• Uniportal robotic-assisted thoracic surgery (U-RATS) is a safe and feasible technique for lung cancer resection.
• U-RATS combines the advantages of uniportal VATS with the benefits of robotic surgery.
• This approach represents a promising advancement in minimally invasive thoracic surgery.