Video-Assisted vs Robotic-Assisted Lung Lobectomies for Operating Room Resource Utilization and Patient Outcomes

Area of Science:

• Thoracic Surgery
• Minimally Invasive Procedures
• Surgical Technology

Background:

• The increasing adoption of robotic surgery necessitates a clear understanding of its time costs compared to established minimally invasive techniques.
• Evaluating operative durations is crucial for optimizing resource allocation and workflow in thoracic surgery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the operative durations of robotic-assisted versus video-assisted thoracoscopic lung lobectomies.
• To assess secondary outcomes including length of stay, 30-day readmission, and 90-day mortality.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective cohort study of 1088 patients undergoing minimally invasive lung lobectomy between 2020-2022.
• Data from 21 hospitals within an integrated health care system were analyzed.
• Augmented inverse probability treatment weighting (AIPTW) was used to adjust for patient and surgeon covariates.

Main Results:

• Robotic-assisted lobectomy had a median operative duration 20.6 minutes longer than video-assisted lobectomy (P < .001).
• No significant differences were observed in adjusted length of stay (0.3 days) or 30-day readmission risk (aOR, 1.29).
• 90-day mortality data were insufficient for robust analysis.

Conclusions:

• While patient outcomes were similar, robotic-assisted lung lobectomy demonstrated longer operative times compared to video-assisted approaches.
• Enhanced consideration for patient selection in robotic-assisted procedures is recommended to improve overall resource utilization.