The following is a summary of “Clinical efficiency of three-port inflatable robot-assisted thoracoscopic surgery in mediastinal tumor resection,” published in the March 2024 issue of Surgery by Peng et al.

This study evaluated the clinical efficacy of three-port inflatable robot-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (RATS) in mediastinal tumor resection by comparing outcomes with the conventional video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) approach.

A retrospective analysis was conducted on 179 patients diagnosed with anterior mediastinal tumors between May 2017 and August 2021. Patients were divided into two groups based on the surgical approach: 92 cases in the RATS group and 87 cases in the VATS group. Demographic data, clinical features, and perioperative variables such as age, sex, BMI, tumor size, diagnosis, operative time, duration of chest tube, intraoperative blood loss, and postoperative stay were compared between the two groups.

There were no significant differences in demographic data and clinical features between the RATS and VATS groups. The two groups did not differ significantly in the operative time and duration of chest tube placement. However, intraoperative blood loss was significantly lower in the RATS group compared to the VATS group (75.9 ± 39.6 vs. 97.4 ± 35.8 ml, p = 0.042). Moreover, patients in the RATS group had significantly shorter postoperative stays than those in the VATS group (2.3 ± 1.0 vs. 3.4 ± 1.4 days, p = 0.035).

Three-port inflatable robot-assisted thoracoscopic surgery for mediastinal tumors is feasible and reliable. It offers several advantages over conventional VATS, including reduced intraoperative blood loss and shorter postoperative hospital stays. These findings support using RATS as a preferred approach for mediastinal tumor resection and provide valuable insights for treatment decision-making in clinical practice.

Source: wjso.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12957-024-03357-x