Comparison of the perioperative outcomes in antero-superior mediastinal tumor resection performed by transcervical resection and video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery.

BACKGROUND

It remains controversial that whether transcervical resection (TC) was associated with better outcomes than video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) in the treatment of antero-superior mediastinal tumors. We aimed to compare the safety and reliability between TC and VATS.

METHODS

Between 2010 and 2012, 80 consecutive patients underwent antero-superior mediastinal tumor resection via TC (n=31) or VATS (n=49). Perioperative outcomes were compared. A propensity score-matched analysis was performed to control the potential confounders.

RESULTS

A total of 41 men and 39 women with median age of 52.5 years were enrolled. No patient died during the perioperative course. After propensity matching, TC group was associated with less intraoperative blood loss (35.1±18.7 93.7±136.1 mL, P=0.034), less postoperative drainage (65.6±76.8 335.0±154.9 mL, P<0.001), shorter length of postoperative hospital stay (3.2±1.2 4.1±1.3 days, P=0.003) and less hospitalization expense (22,252.3±4,761.7 26,514.2±4,052.8 CNY, P=0.002) compared to VATS group. One patient with VATS was converted to open surgery due to intraoperative vessels damage. The postoperative complication was null in TC group while it was 6.1% (n=3) in VATS group (P=0.279), including 1 case of prolonged chest tube drainage and 2 cases of recurrent laryngeal nerve injury.

CONCLUSIONS

TC for antero-superior mediastinal tumors is a safe procedure with better perioperative outcomes compared to VATS.