Comparison of the early robot-assisted lobectomy experience to video-assisted thoracic surgery lobectomy for lung cancer: a single-institution case series matching study.

OBJECTIVE

: Robotic surgery has evolved in urology, gynecology, and general surgery and seems to be an oncologically sound surgical approach. Robotic surgery has been infrequently reported for pulmonary lobectomy. The aim of this study is to compare the outcomes of our early experience in performing robot-assisted lobectomy (RAL) with video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer.

METHODS

: Between February and October 2009, 40 patients underwent RAL for resectable non-small cell lung cancer. The dissection and anatomic isolation of the hilar structures were performed using two arms of the da Vinci S system. A retrospective comparison with two VATS groups was performed, our initial 40 VATS patients (between January 2006 and February 2007) and our most recent 40 VATS patients (between June 2008 and September 2009). The entire experience with VATS lobectomy is 163 cases.

RESULTS

: In the RAL group, the mean age was 64 years, and there were 23 male patients. Adenocarcinoma was diagnosed in 29 patients with a mean tumor size of 3.5 cm. There were no conversions to open thoracotomy. Among the patients in our initial and recent VATS lobectomy groups, the conversion rate was 3 (8%) and 2 (5%) patients, respectively. The operative time for the RAL (240 ± 62 minutes) and the initial VATS lobectomy groups (257 ± 57 minutes) were similar but was longer than the recent VATS lobectomy group (161 ± 39 minutes, P < 0.001). However, the rate of postoperative complications in the RAL group (n = 4, 10%) was significantly lower than that of the initial VATS group (n = 13, 32.5%, P = 0.027) and similar to that of the recent VATS group (n = 7, 17.5%, P = 0.755). Intraoperative bleeding was reduced in the RAL group compared with the initial VATS group (219 mL vs 374 mL P = 0.017), and the median length of postoperative stay was significantly shorter for the RAL group compared with the initial VATS group (6 vs 9 days, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

: The outcomes of our early RAL experience was comparable to the our outcomes achieved with VATS lobectomy, whether performed early or late.