Pure Robot-Assisted Uniportal Anatomical Lung Resection for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Technical Aspects and Early...

Area of Science:

• Thoracic Surgery
• Minimally Invasive Surgery
• Robotic Surgery

Background:

• Minimally invasive anatomic lung resections are standard for early non-small-cell lung cancer.
• Robotic-assisted thoracic surgery (RATS) is increasingly adopted.
• Uniportal RATS (uRATS) represents the latest advancement in robotic thoracic procedures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a series of uniportal robotic-assisted thoracic surgery (uRATS) cases.
• To detail the technical aspects of the uRATS approach.
• To evaluate the feasibility and early outcomes of uRATS for lung cancer resection.

Main Methods:

• A uRATS program was initiated in December 2024 for selected patients.
• Surgical and perioperative data were collected as continuous and dichotomous variables.
• Non-parametric tests compared uRATS data with contemporary multiport RATS patients.

Main Results:

• Seven procedures (2 segmentectomies, 5 lobectomies) were performed via uRATS within 4 months.
• One conversion to open surgery occurred due to an incomplete fissure.
• No significant differences in operative time, conversions, or complications were observed compared to multiport RATS.

Conclusions:

• Uniportal RATS is a safe and feasible surgical approach.
• The technique provides adequate surgical and oncologic outcomes.
• uRATS demonstrates comparable results to multiport robotic surgery.