Objective: To compare the surgical outcome of robotic thyroidectomy through transoral approach and the bilateral breast-axillary approach. Methods: Retrospective analysis was made on the clinical data of patients who performed transoral robotic thyroidectomy (TORT group) or bilateral breast-axillary approach (BABA group) in the Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, the 960th Hospital of People's Liberation Army from July 2020 to May 2022. Both groups received lobectomy with lymph node dissection of the central region. A total of 100 cases were included in the study, including 48 cases in the TORT group and 52 cases in the BABA group. The propensity score matching method was used for 1∶1 matching of patients between the 2 groups, with a match tolerance of 0.03. There were 31 patients in each group successfully matched. In the TORT group, there were 5 males and 26 females, aged (33.2±7.9) years (range: 21 to 53 years). While there were 4 males and 27 females in the BABA group, aged (34.6±9.2) years (range: 19 to 58 years). The t test, Mann-Whitney U test, χ² test or Fisher exact test were used to compare the clinical efficacy between the two groups. Results: All the patients successfully completed robotic thyroid surgery without conversion to open surgery. Compared with BABA group, the TORT group had longer operation time ((211.3±57.2) minutes vs. (126.2±37.8) minutes, t=6.915, P<0.01), shorter drainage tube retention time ((5.4±1.0) days vs. (6.4±1.2) days, t=-3.544, P=0.001), shorter total hospital stay ((6.6±1.2) days vs. (7.4±1.3) days, t=-2.353, P=0.022), and higher cosmetic score (9.46±0.25 vs. 9.27±0.26, t=2.925, P=0.005). There was no significant difference between the two groups in the number of lymph nodes dissection, metastasis in the central compartment, and the incidence of postoperative complications (all P>0.05). Conclusions: Compared with the bilateral breast-axillary approach, the transoral vestibular approach of robotic thyroidectomy is also safe and effective. It shows similar surgical results to the bilateral breast-axillary approach in strictly selected patients, but the postoperative recovery speed is much faster, and the hospital stay is shorter. Transoral robotic thyroidectomy is a more recommended surgical method for patients with high aesthetic demand.
Male ; Female ; Humans ; Robotic Surgical Procedures/methods* ; Thyroid Neoplasms/surgery* ; Thyroidectomy/methods* ; Retrospective Studies ; Neck Dissection/methods* ; Axilla/pathology* ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVES: Da Vinci robot technology is widely used in clinic,with minimally invasive surgery development. This study aims to explore the possible influence of advanced surgical robotics on the surgery learning curve by comparing the initial clinical learning curves of 2 different surgical techniques: robotic-assisted gastrectomy (RAG) and laparoscopic-assisted gastrectomy (LAG). METHODS: From September 2017 to December 2020, a chief surgeon completed a total of 108 cases of radical gastric cancer from the initial stage, including 27 cases of RAG of the Da Vinci Si robotic system (RAG group) and 81 cases of LAG (LAG group). The lymph node of gastric cancer implemented by the Japanese treatment guidelines of gastric cancer. The surgical results, postoperative complications, oncology results and learning curve were analyzed. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in general data, tumor size, pathological grade and clinical stage between the 2 groups (P>0.05). The incidence of serious complications in the RAG group was lower than the LAG group (P=0.003). The intraoperative blood loss in the RAG group was lower than that in the LAG group (P=0.046). The number of lymph nodes cleaned in the RAG group was more (P=0.003), among which there was obvious advantage in lymph node cleaning in the No.9 group (P=0.038) and 11p group (P=0.015). The operation time of the RAG group was significantly longer than the LAG group (P=0.015). The analysis of learning curve found that the cumulative sum analysis (CUSUM) value of the RAG group decreased from the 10th case, while the CUSUM of the LAG group decreased from the 28th case. The learning curve of the RAG group had fewer closing cases than that of the LAG group. The unique design of the surgical robot might help to improve the surgical efficiency and shorten the surgical learning curve. CONCLUSIONS Advanced robotics helps experienced surgeons quickly learn to master RAG skills. With the help of robotics, RAG are superior to LAG in No.9 and 11p lymph node dissection and surgical trauma reduction. RAG can clear more lymph nodes than LAG, and has better perioperative effect.
Humans ; Robotics ; Robotic Surgical Procedures/methods* ; Learning Curve ; Stomach Neoplasms/pathology* ; Retrospective Studies ; Laparoscopy/methods* ; Lymph Node Excision/methods* ; Gastrectomy/methods* ; Treatment Outcome

Objective: To methodically assess the clinical effectiveness and safety of robot-assisted total rectal mesenteric resection (RTME), laparoscopic-assisted total rectal mesenteric resection (laTME), and transanal total rectal mesenteric resection (taTME). Methods: A computer search was conducted on PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Ovid databases to identify English-language reports published between January 2017 and January 2022 that compared the clinical efficacy of the three surgical procedures of RTME, laTME, and taTME. The quality of the studies was evaluated using the NOS and JADAD scales for retrospective cohort studies and randomized controlled trials, respectively. Direct meta-analysis and reticulated meta-analysis were performed using Review Manager software and R software, respectively. Results: Twenty-nine publications comprising 8,339 patients with rectal cancer were ultimately included. The direct meta-analysis indicated that the length of hospital stay was longer after RTME than after taTME, whereas according to the reticulated meta-analysis the length of hospital stay was shorter after taTME than after laTME (MD=-0.86, 95%CI: -1.70 to -0.096, P=0.036). Moreover, the incidence of anastomotic leak was lower after taTME than after RTME (OR=0.60, 95%CI: 0.39 to 0.91, P=0.018). The incidence of intestinal obstruction was also lower after taTME than after RTME (OR=0.55, 95%CI: 0.31 to 0.94, P=0.037). All of these differences were statistically significant (all P<0.05). There were no statistically significant differences between the three surgical procedures regarding the number of lymph nodes cleared, length of the inferior rectal margin, or rate of positive circumferential margins (all P>0.05). An inconsistency test using nodal analysis revealed no statistically significant differences between the results of direct and indirect comparisons of the six outcome indicators (all P>0.05). Furthermore, we detected no significant overall inconsistency between direct and indirect evidence. Conclusion: taTME has advantages over RTME and laTME, in terms of radical and surgical short-term outcomes in patients with rectal cancer.
Humans ; Robotics ; Robotic Surgical Procedures/adverse effects* ; Network Meta-Analysis ; Retrospective Studies ; Postoperative Complications/etiology* ; Transanal Endoscopic Surgery/methods* ; Rectum/surgery* ; Rectal Neoplasms/pathology* ; Laparoscopy/methods* ; Treatment Outcome

BACKGROUND: The KangDuo-Surgical Robot-01 (KD-SR-01) system is a new surgical robot recently developed in China. The aim of this study was to present our single-center experience and mid-term outcomes of urological procedures using the KD-SR-01 system. METHODS: From August 2020 to April 2023, consecutive urologic procedures were performed at Peking University First Hospital using the KD-SR-01 system. The clinical features, perioperative data, and follow-up outcomes were prospectively collected and analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 110 consecutive patients were recruited. Among these patients, 28 underwent partial nephrectomy (PN), 41 underwent urinary tract reconstruction (26 underwent pyeloplasty, 3 underwent ureteral reconstruction and 12 underwent ureterovesical reimplantation [UR]), and 41 underwent radical prostatectomy (RP). The median operative time for PN was 112.5 min, 157.0 min for pyeloplasty, 151.0 min for ureteral reconstruction, 142.5 min for UR, and 138.0 min for RP. The median intraoperative blood loss was 10 mL for PN, 10 mL for pyeloplasty, 30 mL for ureteral reconstruction, 20 mL for UR, and 50 mL for RP. All procedures were successfully completed without conversion, and there were no major complications in any patient. The median warm ischemia time of PN was 17.3 min, and positive surgical margin was not noted in any patient. The overall positive surgical margin rate of RP was 39% (16/41), and no biochemical recurrence was observed in any RP patient during the median follow-up of 11.0 months. The surgical success rates of pyeloplasty and UR were 96% (25/26) and 92% (11/12) during the median follow-up of 29.5 months and 11.5 months, respectively. CONCLUSION The KD-SR-01 system appears feasible, safe, and effective for most urological procedures, based on our single-center experience.
Male ; Humans ; Robotic Surgical Procedures/methods* ; Robotics ; Treatment Outcome ; Retrospective Studies ; Ureter/surgery* ; Urologic Surgical Procedures/methods* ; Laparoscopy/methods*

There still remain some problemsin digestive tract reconstruction after robotic radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer at present, such as great surgical difficulties and high technical requirements. Based on the surgical experience of the Gastric Surgery Department of Union Hospital, Fujian Medical University and the literatures at home and abroad, relevant issues are discussed in terms of robotic radical distal gastrectomy (Billroth I, Billroth II, and Roux-en-Y gastrojejunostomy), proximal gastrectomy (double-channel and double-muscle flap anastomosis), and total gastrectomy (Roux-en-Y anastomosis, functional end-to-end anastomosis, FEEA, π-anastomosis, Overlap anastomosis, and modified Overlap anastomosis with delayed amputation of jejunum, i.e. later-cut Overlap). This article mainly includes (1) The principles of digestive tract reconstruction after robotic radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer. (2) Digestive tract reconstruction after robotic radical distal gastrectomy: Aiming at the weakness of traditional triangular anastomosis, we introduce the improvement of the technical difficulty, namely "modified triangular anastomosis", and point out that because Billroth II anastomosis is a common anastomosis method in China at present, manual suture under robot is more convenient and safe, and can effectively avoid anastomotic stenosis. (3) Digestive tract reconstruction after robotic proximal gastrectomy: It mainly includes double channel anastomosis and double muscle flap anastomosis, but these reconstruction methods are relatively complicated, and robotic surgery has not been widely carried out at present. (4) Digestive tract reconstruction after robotic total gastrectomy: The most classic one is Roux-en-Y anastomosis, mainly using circular stapler for end-to-side esophagojejunal anastomosis and linear stapler for side-to-side esophagojejunal anastomosis, for which we discuss the solutions to the existing technical difficulties. With the continuous innovation of robotic surgical system and anastomosis instruments, and with the gradual improvement of anastomosis technology, it is believed that digestive tract reconstruction after robotic radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer will have a good application prospect in gastric cancer surgery.
Anastomosis, Roux-en-Y/methods* ; Gastrectomy/methods* ; Humans ; Jejunum/surgery* ; Laparoscopy ; Robotic Surgical Procedures ; Robotics ; Stomach Neoplasms/surgery*

Objective: To investigate the safety and learning curve of Da Vinci robotic single-anastomosis duodenal-ileal bypass with sleeve gastrectomy (SADI-S) in the treatment of obesity patients. Methods: A descriptive case series study was performed. Clinical data of obesity patients who were treated with Da Vinci robotic SADI-S in China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University from March 2020 to May 2021 were analyzed retrospectively. Case inclusion criteria: (1) uncomplicated obese patients with body mass index (BMI)≥37.5 kg/m(2); (2) patients with BMI of 28 to <37.5 kg/m(2) complicated with type 2 diabetes or two metabolic syndrome components, or obesity comorbidities; (3) patients undergoing SADI-S by Da Vinci robotic surgery system. Those who received other bariatric procedures other than SADI-S or underwent Da Vince robotic SADI-S as revisional operation were excluded. A total of 77 patients were enrolled in the study, including 31 males and 46 females, with median age of 33 (18-59) years, preoperative body weight of (123.0±26.2) kg, BMI of (42.2±7.1) kg/m(2) and waistline of (127.6±16.3) cm. According to the order of operation date, the patients were numbered as 1-77. The textbook outcome (TO) and Clavien-Dindo grading standard were used to analyze the clinical outcome of each patient and to classify surgical complications, respectively. The standard of textbook outcome was as follows: the operative time less than or equal to the 75th percentile of the patient's operation time (210 min); the postoperative hospital stay less than or equal to the 75th percentile of the patient's postoperative hospital stay (7 d); complication grade lower than Clavien grade II; no readmission; no conversion to laparotomy or death. The patient undergoing robotic SADI-S was considered to meet the TO standard when meeting the above 5 criteria. The TO rate was calculated by cumulative sum analysis (CUSUM) method. The curve was drawn by case number as X-axis and CUSUM (TO rate) as Y-axis so as to understand the learning curve of robotic SADI-S. Results: The operative time of 77 robotic SADI-S was (182.9±37.5) minutes, and the length of postoperative hospital stay was 6 (4-55) days. There was no conversion to laparotomy or death. Seven patients suffered from complications (7/77, 9.1%). Four patients had grade II complications (5.2%), including one with duodeno-ileal anastomotic leakage, one with abdominal bleeding, one with peritoneal effusion and one with delayed gastric emptying; two patients were grade IIIb complications (2.6%) and both of them were diagnosed with gastric leakage; one patient was grade IV complication diagnosed with postoperative respiratory failure (1.3%), and all of them were cured successfully. A total of 51 patients met the textbook outcome standard, and the TO rate was positive and was steadily increasing after the number of surgical cases accumulated to the 46th case. Taking the 46th case as the boundary, all the patients were divided into learning stage group (n=46) and mastery stage group (n=31). There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of gender, age, weight, body mass index, waist circumference, ASA classification, standard liver volume, operative time and morbidity of postoperative complication (all P>0.05). The percent of abdominal drainage tube in learning stage group was higher than that in mastery stage group (54.3% versus 16.1%, P<0.05). The length of postoperative hospital stay in learning stage group was longer than that in mastery stage group [6 (4-22) d versus 6 (5-55) d, P<0.05)]. Conclusion: The Da Vinci robotic SADI-S is safe and feasible with a learning curve of 46 cases.
Adult ; Anastomosis, Surgical ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/surgery* ; Female ; Gastrectomy/methods* ; Gastric Bypass/adverse effects* ; Humans ; Learning Curve ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Obesity/surgery* ; Obesity, Morbid/surgery* ; Retrospective Studies ; Robotic Surgical Procedures

Objective: To evaluate the therapeutic and prognostic outcomes of transoral robotic surgery (TORS) for oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Methods: A retrospective study of 99 OSCC patients treated with TORS in Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center between April 2017 and May 2021 was conducted. There were 84 males and 15 females, with an age range of 35-85 years. Patients' clinical characteristics, including clinical staging, HPV infection status, perioperative management and postoperative adjuvant treatment, were recorded. The overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were analyzed. The survival outcomes were analyzed with Kaplan-Meier method and Log-rank test. Results: The hospital stay of OSCC patients with TORS was (5.3±2.9) days and the average time of postoperative nasal feeding tube indwelling was (15.2±10.8) days. Among the 99 patients, 21 (21.2%) received tracheotomy and the average time of tracheotomy tube indwelling was (11.9±11.4) days. The two-year OS and PFS in patients with follow-up over two years were 94.0% and 87.7%, respectively and the three-year OS and PFS of patients with follow-up over three years were 94.0% and 78.9%, respectively. The two-year OS and PFS were respectively 97.4% and 88.9%, for patients with stages I-II and 86.8% and 88.9% for patients with stages III-IV. HPV-negative and HPV-positive patients had respectively two-year OS (100.0% vs. 91.5%) and PFS (88.9% vs. 87.2%). There was no significantly statistical difference in survival between patients with and without adjuvant radiotherapy after TORS (82.6% vs. 90.5%, HR=0.52, 95%CI: 0.12-2.23, P=0.400). Conclusions: TORS is more suitable for the treatment of patients with early (Ⅰ-Ⅱ) or HPV-positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma, and the recovery after TORS treatment is good.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Head and Neck Neoplasms ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Oropharyngeal Neoplasms/surgery* ; Papillomavirus Infections/surgery* ; Retrospective Studies ; Robotic Surgical Procedures/methods* ; Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck/surgery* ; Treatment Outcome

Objective: To explore the feasibility and perioperative safety of transoral robotic surgery with da Vinci Xi platform for pharyngolaryngeal tumors. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on 55 consecutive cases with resection of pharyngolaryngeal tumors by transoral robotic surgery with da Vinci Xi platform from July 27, 2020 to October 31, 2021 in the Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Fudan University Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital, including 44 males and 11 females, aged 25-79 years. There were 41 cases of oropharyngeal tumors, 9 cases of parapharyngeal space tumors, 2 cases of laryngeal tumors, 2 cases of hypopharyngeal tumors and 1 case of retropharyngeal space tumor. Operative time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative hospital stay, perioperative tracheotomy, nasal feeding, hemorrhage and other complications were analyzed. Results: Of the 55 patients, 54 received resection of pharyngolaryngeal tumors by da Vinci robot through oral approach, and only 1 case of pyriform sinus carcinoma underwent a conversion to open surgery due to poor exposure of lower margin. The average surgical time for the patients with transoral robotic surgeries was 64.4 min, the average blood loss was 24.8 ml, the average postoperative hospital stay was 6.9 d, and the average oral feeding time was 11.1 d. Seventeen patients (30.9%) underwent preventive tracheotomy during surgery. Among 38 cases of laryngeal cancer, 28 underwent simultaneously neck dissection. No serious complications occurred in all patients during and after operation. The follow-up time was 1-15 months. Aside from 1 patient had a relapse 10 months after surgery, other patients had no recurrence or metastasis. Conclusion: Transoral robotic surgery with da Vinci Xi is safe, effective and minimally invasive for resection of pharyngolaryngeal tumors under reasonable indications.
Adult ; Aged ; Feasibility Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Laryngeal Neoplasms/surgery* ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pharyngeal Neoplasms/surgery* ; Retrospective Studies ; Robotic Surgical Procedures/methods*

Objective: To explore the therapeutic effects of transoral robotic surgery (TORS) and traditional surgical modes in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC). Methods: The clinicopathological data of patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma treated at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center from 2010 to 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. 135 cases were treated with traditional surgery (non-TORS group), while 52 cases were treated with TORS (TORS group). The prognosis of the two groups of patients were analyzed by Kaplan-Meier method and Log rank test, the influencing factors were analyzed by Cox regression model. Results: The 2-year overall survival (OS, 94.2%) and 2-year progression-free survival (PFS, 93.8%) of patients in the TORS group were better than those in the non-TORS group (71.4% and 71.4%, respectively, P<0.05). The 2-year OS (93.3%) and 2-year PFS (92.8%) of TORS group patients in T1-2 stage were better than those of non-TORS group (73.1% and 72.8%, respectively, P<0.05). The 2-year OS (95.8%) and 2-year PFS (95.2%) of patients with stage Ⅰ to Ⅱ in the TORS group were not significantly different from those in the non-TORS group (84.1% and 83.9%, respectively, P>0.05). The 2-year OS (92.9%) and 2-year PFS rate (92.7%) of patients with stage Ⅲ to Ⅳ in the TORS group were better than those in the non-TORS group (64.7% and 63.9%, respectively, P<0.05). The 2-year OS (94.4%) of HPV-positive patients in the TORS group was not significantly different from that in the non-TORS group (83.3%, P=0.222). The 2-year OS of HPV-negative patients in the TORS group (94.1%) was significantly different from that in the non-TORS group (43.7%, P<0.001). HPV status was an independent prognostic factor (P=0.008). Conclusions: TORS has a better prognosis in the treatment of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma compared with the traditional treatment methods. The patients with T1-T2 can achieve better survival benefits after TORS treatment. The HPV-positive OPSCC patients has a better prognosis than that of HPV-negative OPSCC patients, and regardless of HPV status, OPSCC patients in the TORS group could obtain a better survival prognosis.
Head and Neck Neoplasms ; Humans ; Oropharyngeal Neoplasms/surgery* ; Papillomavirus Infections/complications* ; Retrospective Studies ; Robotic Surgical Procedures/methods* ; Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck/surgery*

Objective: To evaluate the indications, safety, feasibility, and surgical technique for patients with head and neck cancers undergoing transoral robotic retropharyngeal lymph node (RPLN) dissection. Methods: The current study enrolled 12 consecutive head and neck cancer patients (seven males and four females) who underwent transoral robotic RPLN dissection with the da Vinci surgical robotic system at the Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center from May 2019 to July 2020. Seven patients were diagnosed as nasopharyngeal carcinoma with RPLN metastasis after initial treatments, 4 patients were diagnosed as thyroid carcinoma with RPLN metastasis after initial treatments, and one patient was diagnosed as oropharyngeal carcinoma with RPLN metastasis before initial treatments. The operation procedure and duration time, intraoperative blood loss volume and complications, nasogastric feeding tube dependence, tracheostomy dependence, postoperative complications, and hospitalization time were recorded and analyzed. Results: All patients were successfully treated by transoral robotic dissection of the metastatic RPLNs, none of which was converted to open surgery. RPLNs were completely resected in 10 patients, and partly resected in 2 patients (both were nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients). The mean number of RPLN dissected was 1.7. The operation duration time and intraoperative blood loss volume were (191.3±101.1) min and (150.0±86.6) ml, respectively. There was no severe intraoperative complication such as massive haemorrhage or adjacent organ injury during surgery. Nasogastric tube use was required in all patients with (17.1±10.6) days of dependence, while tracheotomy was performed in 8 patients with (11.6±10.7) days of dependence. The postoperative hospitalization stay was (8.5±5.7) days. Postoperative complications occurred in 4 patients, including 2 of retropharyngeal incision and 2 of dysphagia. During a follow-up of (6.5±5.1) months, disease-free progression was observed in all patients, 10 patients were disease-free survival and other 2 patients were survival with tumor burden. Conclusions: The transoral robotic RPLN dissection is safety and feasible. Compared with the traditional open surgical approach, it is less traumatic and safer, has fewer complications and good clinical application potentiality. The indications for transoral robotic RPLN dissection include thyroid carcinoma, oropharyngeal carcinoma, and some selected nasopharyngeal carcinoma and other head and neck cancers. Metastatic RPLNs from some nasopharyngeal carcinoma with incomplete capsule, unclear border and adhesion to the surrounding vessels are not suitable for transoral robotic RPLN dissection.
Blood Loss, Surgical ; Female ; Head and Neck Neoplasms/pathology* ; Humans ; Lymph Node Excision/methods* ; Lymph Nodes/pathology* ; Male ; Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma/pathology* ; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms/surgery* ; Neck Dissection/methods* ; Postoperative Complications/surgery* ; Robotic Surgical Procedures/methods* ; Thyroid Neoplasms/pathology*