Background and objective In recent years, Da Vinci robot system applied in the treatment of intratho-racic surgery mediastinal diseases become more mature. hTe aim of this study is to summarize the clinical data about mediasti-nal lesions of General Hospital of Shenyang Military Region in the past 4 years, then to analyze the treatment effect and prom-ising applications of da Vinci robot system in the surgical treatment of mediastinal lesions. Methods 203 cases of mediastinal lesions were collected from General Hospital of Shenyang Military Region between 2010 and 2013. hTese patients were di-vided into two groups da Vinci and video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) according to the selection of the treatments. hTe time in surgery, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative drainage amount within three days atfer surgery, the period of bearing drainage tubes, hospital stays and hospitalization expense were then compared. Results All patients were successfully operated, the postoperative recovery is good and there is no perioperative death. hTe different of the time in surgery between two groups is Robots group 82 (20-320) min and thoracoscopic group 89 (35-360) min (P>0.05). hTe intraoperative blood loss between two groups is robot group 10 (1-100) mL and thoracoscopic group 50 (3-1,500) mL. hTe postoperative drainage amount within three days atfer surgery between two groups is robot group 215 (0-2,220) mL and thoracoscopic group 350 (50-1,810) mL. hTe period of bearing drainage tubes atfer surgery between two groups is robot group 3 (0-10) d and thora-coscopic group:5 (1-18) d. hTe difference of hospital stays between two groups is robot group 7 (2-15) d and thoracoscopic group 9 (2-50) d. hTe hospitalization expense between two groups is robot group (18,983.6±4,461.2) RMB and thoracoscopic group (9,351.9±2,076.3) RMB (All P<0.001). Conclusion hTe da Vinci robot system is safe and effcient in the treatment of mediastinal lesions compared with video-assisted thoracoscopic approach, even though its expense is higher.

Objective:To investigate the characteristics, causes and preventive strategies of intraoperative and postoperative complications of Da Vince robotic radical resection for lung cancer.Methods:From January 2018 to June 2020, 306 patients with lung cancer who underwent robotic radical resection of lung cancer in our department were reviewed, the perioperative data were statistically analyzed. There were 154 males and 152 females, aged(58.5±10.3) years old, 238 lobectomy cases and 68 segmental lobectomy cases.Results:There were no perioperative death, no conversion to thoracotomy, and no intraoperative vascular injury. Intraoperative blood loss was(41.5±37.4)ml, 302 cases(98.7%) underwent R0 resection, 54 cases(17.6%) of intraoperative bleeding from troca mouth of robot operating arm. 32 cases(10.5%) of postoperative complications, including 3 cases(1.0%) of chylothorax, 1 case(0.3%) of pleural effusion, 28 cases( 9.2%) of alveolar fistula over 7 days with 5 cases of large area subcutaneous emphysema.Conclusion:The most common intraoperative complication in robotic lung cancer radical operation is troca bleeding, and the most common postoperative complication is alveolar fistula. Robot surgery is safe, and targeted preventive measures can reduce the incidence of complications.

Background and objective A solitary pulmonary nodule (SPN) is deifned as a round intraparenchimal lung lesion less than 3 cm in size, not associated with atelectasis or adenopathy. hTe aim of this study is to learn clinical experi-ence of the treatment of SPN with Da Vinci Surgical System. Methods A total of 9 patients with solitary pulmonary nodules (SPN) less than 3 cm in diameter was treated with Da Vinci Surgical System (Intuitive Surgical, California) in thoracic surgery department from General Hospital of Shenyang Militrary Region from November 2011 to March 2014. hTis group of patients included 3 males and 6 females, and the mean age was 51±9.9 yr (range:41-74 yr). Most of the patients were no obvious clini-cal symptoms (7 cases were found by physical examination, others were with cough and expectoration). hTeir median medical history was 12 mo (range:4 d-3 yr). All the lesions of patients were peripheral pulmonary nodules and the mean diameter of those was (1.4±0.6) cm(range:0.8-2.8 cm). Wedge-shaped resection or lobectomy was performed depending on the result of rapid pathology and systemic lymph node dissection was done for malignant leision. We used general anesthesis with double lumens trachea cannula. We set the patients in lateral decubitus position with jackknife. hTe patient cart enter from top of the patient. hTe position of trocars would be set according to the position of lesion. A 12 mm incision was positioned at the 8th intercostal space in the posterior axillary line as vision port, and two 8 mm incisions were positioned at the 5th intercostal space between the anterior axillary line and midclavicular line, and the 8th infrascapular line as robotic instrument ports about 10 cm apart from the vision port. One additional auxiliary small incision for instrument without retracting ribs was set at the 7th in-tercostal space in the middle axillary line. Results hTere were 4 benign leisions and 5 malignancies identiifed. Wedge-shaped resection was performed for 4 patients, lobectomy with systemic lymph node dissection for 3 patients (including 2 right middle lobectomies and 1 letf upper lobectomy) and wedge-shaped resection with systemic lymph node dissection for 2 patients of poor lung function. All of the 9 cases were completed with total robotic procedure without conversion. hTe pathological results included 3 inlfammatory pseudotumors, 1 hamartoma, 5 adenocarcinomas. All of the 29 patients were hospital discharged smoothly. hTe patients were followed up for 0.1-18.5 mo (median 11 mo) without recurrence or metastasis. Conclusion hTe SPN patients should be given active surgical treatments to improve the diagnose rate as well as the cure rate of early non-small cell lung cancer. Since da Vinci Surgical System is a safe and minimally invasive treatment for SPN, it has higher value to the diagnosis and treatment of SPN.

Objective:To compare the short-term outcomes of segmentectomy for stage ⅠA non-small cell lung cancer by two surgical methods.Methods:A retrospective analysis was performed on 101 patients with stage ⅠA non-small cell lung cancer and undergoing segmentectomy admitted to the Department of Thoracic Surgery of The General Hospital of the Northern Theater Command from July 2016 to July 2020, including 50 patients who underwent Da Vinci robotic segmentectomy and 51 patients who underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic segmentectomy during the same period. By collecting the clinical data of the patients, the operation time, intraoperative blood loss, lymph node dissection stations, lymph node dissection number, drainage volume on the first day after the operation, total drainage volume on the third day after the operation, postoperative chest catheter insertion time, postoperative hospitalization days, and postoperative complication rate were compared and analyzed.Results:Patients in both groups successfully completed pulmonary segmental resection, and there were no cases of conversion to thoracotomy and perioperative death.Compared and analyzed the postoperative clinical results of the two groups, the intraoperative blood loss [(34.40±12.96) ml vs.(85.10±26.41)ml, P=0.000], the number of lymph node dissection stations(4.72±1.20 vs. 3.60±1.40, P=0.000) and the number of lymph node dissection(15.14±5.91 vs. 10.76±5.26, P=0.000) showed statistically significant differences, and RATS group was superior to VATS group.There were no statistically significant differences in operation time[(153.90±21.88) min vs.(155.39±25.04) min, P=0.751], drainage volume on the first day after surgery[(217.80±76.94) ml vs.(210.98±86.98) ml, P=0.678], total drainage volume three days after surgery[(612.60±169.93) ml vs.(595.10±203.90) ml, P=0.641], duration of chest drainage tube after operation[(5.36±2.33) days vs.(5.18±2.54) days, P=0.706], postoperative hospitalization days[(7.50±2.35) days vs.(7.47±2.93) days, P=0.956]and postoperative complication incidence. Conclusion:Da Vinci robot segmentectomy is a safe and effective surgical method, with less bleeding and more lymph node dissection stations and number than video-assisted thoracoscopic segmentectomy for stage ⅠA non-small cell lung cancer.

Background and objectiveVideo-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) theoretically offers advantages over open thymectomy for clinically early-stage (Masaoka-Koga stage I and II) thymic malignancies. However, longterm outcomes have not been well studied. We compared the postoperative outcomes and survival from a cohort study based on the database of the Chinese Alliance for Research in Thymomas (ChART).MethodsBetween 1994 and 2012, data of 1,117 patients hav-ing surgery for clinically early-stage (Masaoka-Koga stage I and II) tumors were enrolled for the study. Among them, 241 cases underwent VATS thymectomy (VATS group), while 876 cases underwent open thymectomy (Open group). Univariate analyses were used to compare the clinical character and perioperative outcomes between the two groups. And multivariate analysis was performed to determine the independent predictive factors for long-term survival.Results Compared with the Open group, the VATS group had higher percentage of total thymectomy (80.5%vs 73.9%,P=0.028), resection rate (98.8%vs 88.7%,P<0.001) and less recurrence (2.9%vs 16.0%,P<0.001). Five-year overall survival was 92% atfer VATS and 92% atfer open thymectomy, with no signiifcant difference between the two groups (P=0.15). However, 5-year disease free survival were 92% in VATS group and 83% in Open group (P=0.011).Cox proportional hazards model revealed that WHO classiifcation, Masaoka-Koga stage and adjuvant therapy were independent predictive factors for overall survival, while surgical approach had no signiifcant impact on long-term outcome.ConclusionhTis study suggests that VATS thymectomy is an effective approach for clinically early-stage thymic malig-nancies. And it may offer better perioperative outcomes, as well as equal oncological survival.

Objective To investigate the clinical effect of digital drainage system (DDS) in patients after robot-assisted lobectomy. Methods The clinical data of the patients who underwent da Vinci robot-assisted lobectomy from August 2020 to December 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into a DDS group and a conventional group (using traditional single thoracic drainage tube device) according to different drainage devices used after operation. The preoperative data, intraoperative blood loss, total drainage volume within 48 h after operation, postoperative extubation time and postoperative hospital stay were compared between the two groups. Results Finally, 170 patients were collected, including 76 males and 94 females with an average age of 61.8±8.7 years. Postoperative extubation time [5.53 (6.00, 7.00) days vs. 6.36 (6.00, 8.00) days, Z=–2.467, P=0.014] and postoperative hospital stay [7.80 (8.00, 10.00) days vs. 8.94 (9.00, 10.00) days, Z=–2.364, P=0.018] in the DDS group were shorter than those in the conventional group. For patients with postoperative persistent air leak, postoperative extubation time (Z=–2.786, P=0.005) and postoperative hospital stay (Z=–2.862, P=0.003) in the DDS group were also shorter than those in the conventional group. Conclusion DDS has a positive effect on enhanced recovery after robot-assisted lobectomy, which is safe and stable, and is beneficial to postoperative rehabilitation and shortening the average hospital stay.

Objective To compare three surgical treatments for mediastinal mass with myasthenia gravis. Methods Retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical data of 53 patients who underwent extended thymectomy between January 2010 and December 2017 in our hospital. There were 29 males and 24 females, aged 17-73 years. Patients were divided into three groups according to the surgical methods: a group A (video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery with the da Vinci robotic system, n=22), a group B (video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery, n=12) and a group C (median sternotomy, n=19). The gender distribution, age, intraoperative blood loss, operation time, postoperative extubation time, postoperative hospital stay, Osserman classification of myasthenia gravis, postoperative myasthenic remission rate, etc were compared in three groups. Results No perioperative death was observed in 53 patients. One patient in the group C suffered from postoperative myasthenic crisis and improved after active treatment. One patient with video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery was converted to median sternotomy due to the intraoperative injury of the left brachiocephalic vein. Compared with the group B and group C, the group A had shorter operation time, less intraoperative blood loss and drainage on the first postoperative day and fewer days of extubation. Postoperative hospital stay was less in the group A than that in the group C (P<0.05). The postoperative myasthenic remission rate was higher in the group A than that in the other two groups, but there was no statistical difference. Conclusion Because of the robot’s unique minimally invasive advantage, in this study, the outcome of patients with myasthenia gravis treated with Da Vinci robots and thymectomy is better than that of the remaining two groups in terms of perioperative outcomes and myasthenic remission rate. But long-term results and a large of number matching experiments are needed to confirm. However, it is undeniable that robotic surgery must be the future of the minimally invasive surgery.

Objective    To summarize the efficacy of robot-assisted thoracic surgery (RATS) and video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) in the treatment of left upper lobectomy for non-small cell lung cancer. Methods    The clinical data of patients with non-small cell lung cancer who underwent left upper lobectomy with RATS or VATS in our center from January 2019 to October 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into two groups according to surgical methods: a RATS group and a VATS group. The baseline clinical data and results were compared between the two groups. Results    A total of 145 patients were included. There were 78 males and 67 females with a mean age of 59.9 years. There were 63 patients in the RATS group and 82 patients in the VATS group. There was no death within 30 days after operation in both groups. In the RATS group, the drainage volume on the second postoperative day (233.49±83.94 mL vs. 284.88±120.21 mL, P=0.003), total operative time (126.94±29.50 min vs. 181.59±61.51 min, P=0.000), intraoperative resection time of the left upper lobe (76.48±27.52 min vs. 107.23±47.84 min, P=0.000), intraoperative blood loss (P=0.000), and conversion rate to thoracotomy (P=0.018) were significantly better than those in the VATS group. The group (5.41±0.94 groups vs. 4.83±1.31 groups, P=0.002) and number (18.27±7.39 vs. 12.76±6.54, P=0.000) of dissected lymph nodes in the RATS group were significantly more than those in the VATS group. The differences in the drainage volume on the first day after operation, postoperative intubation time, postoperative hospital stay or postoperative complications between the two groups were not statistically significant (P>0.05). Conclusion    The application of RATS in the left upper lobectomy for non-small cell lung cancer is safe and feasible, and has obvious advantages over VATS.

BACKGROUND: Da Vinci Surgical System is one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century, which represents the development direction of the precise minimally invasive surgical techniques, the aim of this study was to comparing the short-term outcomes between da Vinci robot-assisted lobectomy and video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) lobectomy for non-small cell lung cancer. METHODS: 45 pairs of non-small cell lung cancer patients underwent pulmonary lobectomy with da Vinci Robotic assisted thoracoscopic (RATS) and VATS approach during the same period from January 2014 to January 2017. The operative time, estimated blood loss (EBL), total number and total groups of dissected lymph nodes, postoperative duration of drainage, the first day volume of drainage, total volume of drainage were compared. RESULTS: No perioperative death and convertion to thoracotomy occured in both groups. There were significant difference between RATS group and VATS group in EBL [(50.30±32.33) mL vs (208.60±132.63) mL], the first day volume of drainage [(275.00±145.42) mL vs (347.60±125.80) mL], the dissected total number [(22.67±9.67) vs (15.51±5.41)] and total team [(6.31±1.43) vs (4.91±1.04)] of lymph node. There were no significant difference in other outcomes. CONCLUSIONS RATS is safe and effective and took better short-outcomes than VATS in non-small cell lung cancer.
Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; surgery ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; surgery ; Lymph Node Excision ; Lymph Nodes ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures ; Operative Time ; Retrospective Studies ; Robotics ; methods ; Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted ; instrumentation ; methods ; Thoracoscopy ; instrumentation ; methods

Objective    To investigate the preoperative localization of pulmonary glabrous nodules. Methods    A total of 192 patients admitted to General Hospital of  Northern Theater Command from April 2012 to September 2019 were selected for the study. There were 95 males and 97 females at an age of 56.47±11.79 years. All patients completed preoperative examination, and were divided into a positioning group (n=97) and a non-positioning group (n=95) according to whether the preoperative positioning was performed. And the surgical indicators between the two groups were compared. According to the substance of ground-glass opacity, they were divided into a pure ground-glass nodules group (n=23) and a mixed ground-glass nodules group (n=74) in the positioning group and a pure ground-glass nodules group (n=14) and a mixed ground-glass nodules group (n=81) in the non-positioning group . According to the size and distance of the nodules from the pleura and whether the nodules could be detected, the corresponding linear function was obtained. Results    The operative time of methylene blue localization group was shorter than that of the no localization group. In the scatter plot, the corresponding diameter and depth of the nodules and the corresponding coordinate points which can be explored were described. And linear regression was performed on all the coordinate points to obtain the linear function: depth=0.648×diameter–1.446 (mm). It can be used as an indication for the preoperative localization of pure ground-glass nodules in Da Vinci robotic surgery. Linear function: depth=0.559 5×diameter+0.56 (mm). It can be used as an indication of preoperative localization of mixed ground-glass nodules in Da Vinci robotic surgery. Conclusion    This equation can be used as a preoperative indication for clinical peripheral pulmonary ground-glass nodules.