Robot-assisted Thymectomy with the 'da Vinci' Surgical System in a Patient with Myasthenia Gravis: A case report.
- Author:
Jung Hoon YI
1
;
Sang Seok JEONG
;
Jong Soo WOO
;
Gwang Jo CHO
;
Jung Hee BANG
;
Pill Jo CHOI
;
Kwon Jae PARK
Author Information
1. Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Dong-A University Medical Center, College of Medicine, Dong-A University, Korea. pjchoi@daunet.donga.ac.kr
- Publication Type:Case Report
- Keywords:
Robotics;
Thymectomy;
Myasthenia gravis
- MeSH:
Adult;
Hand;
Humans;
Myasthenia Gravis;
Robotics;
Thoracic Cavity;
Thymectomy;
Thymus Hyperplasia
- From:The Korean Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery
2010;43(5):557-561
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
In the treatment of myasthenia gravis, thymectomy is generally accepted as the standard of therapy. For thymectomy, there have been various conventional open approaches including sternal splitting, but recently minimally invasive approaches have been increasingly applied. A 28-year-old man presenting with weakness of both hands and fatigability was diagnosed as having myasthenia gravis with thymic hyperplasia. He underwent a robot-assisted thymectomy with the 'da Vinci' surgical system. Through the right thoracic cavity, two thirds of the thymic gland was dissected, and the remainder was resected through the left; these procedures took, respectively, 1 hour and 30 minutes. The patient was discharged on the 8th postoperative day without complications. The minimally invasive approach with the 'da Vinci' surgical system is emerging as a popular choice and various advantages have been reported. Here we report the first successful case of robot-assisted thymectomy.
