[A Case of Robot-Assisted Thoracoscopic Extended Thymectomy for Thymoma Associated with Generalized Myasthenia...

A 53-year-old male patient presented with dyspnea and was admitted with the diagnosis of bacterial pneumonia.His respiratory condition did not improve despite the resolution of fever with antibiotic therapy, and he was eventually diagnosed with thymoma associated with myasthenia gravis.The patient underwent robot-assisted thoracoscopic extended thymectomy under general anesthesia.The anterior mediastinal tissue was resected en bloc using 5 ports and the port-hopping function of the robotic system.The operation time was 264 min, and the blood loss was 55 g.Histopathologic examination led to the definitive diagnosis of type B2 thymoma.Postoperatively, muscle strength improved, oral intake resumed after extubation, and the patient was transferred to rehabilitation on day 35.Achieving adequate dissection without approaching from both the right and left sides is generally challenging in resecting mediastinal tissue via thoracoscopic extended thymectomy.The subxiphoid approach may pose similar limitations.However, in the present case, the use of the port-hopping function during robot-assisted surgery allowed scope insertion from various positions, enabling excellent visualization.