Robotic-assisted lobectomy for malignant lung tumors.

Objectives: For patients with lung cancer, surgical resection remains the best curative option and is associated with the longest disease-free survival. We present our institutional outcomes treating pulmonary malignancy with robotic lobectomy over the course of 1 year. Methods: A retrospective review was conducted on patients who underwent robotic pulmonary lobectomy for malignancy at a single institution in 2018. Results: Over the course of 1 year, 166 patients underwent robotic lobectomy for pulmonary neoplasm. The mean age of the patients was 75 years; 73% were current or prior smokers and 52% of the patients were male. The mean body mass index was 28 kg/m2. Conversion to open thoracotomy occurred in 7% of patients. The mean total hospital length of stay (LOS) was 3 days. Histopathological examination revealed a mean tumour size of 2.7 cm with 11 lymph nodes harvested. Left-sided tumours had a significantly higher number of lymph nodes harvested when compared to right-sided tumours (11.6 vs. 9.8, P = 0.01), despite sampling the recommended minimum of three N2 stations. The most common pathology was adenocarcinoma (65%), followed by squamous cell carcinoma (17%) The 30-day operative mortality was 0.6%. Conclusions: Robotic video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery is a safe, feasible and oncologically adequate procedure for lung malignancies. Comparison of our outcomes to previously reported national averages suggests a similar hospital LOS, lymph node harvest, conversion rate to open thoracotomy and 30-day mortality rate. We acknowledge the limitations of this non-randomised, retrospective study. Future research on robotic lobectomies is encouraged.

Rare thymopharyngeal duct cyst presentation in an adult patient.

Retained thymic tissue may occur anywhere along the path of descent of the thymus. Cervical thymic cysts are a rare cause of benign neck masses. Thymopharyngeal duct cysts are thymic cysts that span the length of the neck and extend towards the mediastinum. These lesions are rare and classically have been described in paediatric patients. Here, we present the case of a 23-year-old woman with a left-sided neck mass, which was found to be a thymopharyngeal duct cyst. Multiple analytic modalities including the clinical presentation, imaging, operative findings and histology were required to confirm the diagnosis and are discussed below.

Robotic LINX Placement: Is it Worth It?

Background: Laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication is considered the current gold standard of surgical treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease. Magnetic sphincter augmentation with the LINX® device was developed as a less technically challenging alternative that has proven to be a safe and effective surgical antireflux procedure. Despite rapid adoption of the robotic platform in many areas of general surgery, no studies have compared laparoscopic and robotic approaches to placement of the LINX device. This retrospective study is the first to compare the robotic platform with the laparoscopic approach for minimally invasive LINX placement. Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of a total cohort of 20 patients who underwent LINX placement with hiatal hernia repair at our institution. Half of the patients underwent surgery using laparoscopy and the other half with robotic technology. Patient characteristics, surgical outcomes, and charge differences were analyzed. Results: We found that there were no significant differences in hospital length of stay, surgical outcomes, use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) postoperatively, or postoperative dysphagia. Patients undergoing robotic surgery had longer operative time (139 ± 25 minutes versus 81 ± 14 minutes, P < .01), higher intraoperative charges ($8980 ± 275 versus $7239 ± 355, P < .01), and higher charges associated with their hospital stay ($45,037 ± 4112.41 versus $39,565 ± 3731.64, P < .01). Conclusions: In comparison with laparoscopic LINX procedures, robotic LINX does not offer superior surgical outcomes in terms of postoperative PPI use, dysphagia, or hospital length of stay. Robotic LINX procedures are associated with increased operative time and overall charges.