Extending the Reach of Thoracic Surgical Oncology With Telehealth

COVID-19 accelerated the adaptation of telemedicine in surgical practice. Audio-only telemedicine utilization is rare; however, this may be more accessible than video for many patients. There are limited data examining the feasibility of this technology in the preoperative setting.

We conducted a single institution review of patients evaluated for thoracic surgery oncologic indications from 2018 to 2022. Patients were stratified into phone- and office-based assessment on the type of their first preoperative visit. Primary outcomes were rate of day of surgery cancellation and postoperative length of stay.

Overall, 741 patients met the inclusion criteria, including 374 in-person and 367 via telemedicine. The distribution of patients residing in the same county as our institution did not change based on type of preoperative visit (15% vs 17%, P = .550). Additionally, the rate of day of surgery cancellation did not differ between in office and phone-based groups (2% [7 of 374] and 3% [11 of 367], P = .910). Patients in the telemedicine group did have a higher number of preoperative visits compared with the in-office group (1.0 visits vs 1.4 visits, P < .001). There was no difference in postoperative length of stay (P = .600).

This single institution study of patients undergoing thoracic surgery for malignancy demonstrates that patients can feasibly undergo an audio-only preoperative visit without increasing the rate of day of surgery cancellation or length of stay. This technology should remain an option for surgical patients going forward.