The early experience of robot-assisted thymectomy / 中国医师杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To summarize the early experience of thymectomy by robot-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (RATS) with the da Vinci S Surgical System.Methods A total of 16 patients was underwent thymectomy from October 2016 to May 2017 by RATS.Among them,there were 10 cases of thymic hyperplasia,5 cases of thymoma and 1 case of thymic small cell carcinoma,including 11 cases of myasthenia gravis (MG).The Osserman types were as followstype Ⅰ (5),type ⅡA (3),type ⅡB (2),and type Ⅲ (1).Clinical data were collected and analyzed.Results The operations were successfully accomplished by RATS in all the 16 patients without any conversion to open surgery and major complication.The docking time was 2-45 (11.69 ± 11.03) min.The operation time was 47-152 (84.06 ± 25.67) min.The blood loss was 0-150 (57.50 ± 37.32) ml.The diameter of thymus or tumor was 4-19.5 cm and (8.22 ± 3.64) cm.Fourteen cases were removed tracheal intubation in the operation day,and the other 2 cases taked off in 6th and 8th days.One case occurred myasthenia gravis crisis after surgery.All patients were followed up for 2-7 months after discharge without MG recurrence.Conclusions The da Vinci S Surgical System can be safely,accurately and stably used for thymectomy.