Objective To compare the perioperative outcomes of atypical segmentectomy between robotic-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (RATS) and conventional video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) in early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). MethodsThe data of patients who underwent minimally invasive anatomic atypical segmentectomy in our hospital from October 2016 to December 2021 were collected. These patients were divided into a RATS group and a VATS group according to the operation method. Propensity score (PS) matching was used to select patients with close clinical baseline characteristics, and the perioperative results of the two groups were compared. ResultsA total of 1 048 patients were enrolled, including 320 males and 728 females, with a mean age of 53.51±11.13 years. There were 277 patients in the RATS group and 771 patients in the VATS group. After 1∶1 PS matching, 277 pairs were selected. Both groups were well balanced for age, sex, smoking history, body mass index, Charlson comorbidity index, pulmonary function, tumor size, tumor location, and histological type. All patients were R0 resection, and there were no deaths within 30 days after surgery. The RATS group had shorter operative time [85 (75, 105) min vs. 115 (95, 140) min, P<0.001] and less blood loss [50 (30, 100) mL vs. 60 (50, 100) mL, P=0.001]. There were no statistical differences between the two groups in lymph node resection, conversion to thoracotomy, thoracic drainage time, total amount of thoracic drainage or postoperative complications (P>0.05). ConclusionBoth RATS and VATS atypical segmentectomies are safe and feasible for early-stage NSCLC. RATS can effectively shorten the operative time, and reduce blood loss.
With the wide popularization of low-dose computed tomography screening for lung cancer, the proportion of early detection of lung cancer has increased significantly. Due to the favorable prognosis of ground-glass nodule-lung cancer, a prospective multicenter clinical trial in Japan has confirmed the safety and efficacy of segmentectomy. Identification of the intersegmental plane is one of the key steps in segmentectomy. Understanding its physiological mechanism can provide a theoretical basis for optimizing the identification technique, identifying intersegmental plane more accurately and quickly, improving the surgical effect and reducing complications. This article mainly introduces the identification technology of the intersegmental plane and its physiological mechanism in pulmonary segmentectomy.
ObjectiveTo analyze the operation outcomes and learning curve of uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS).MethodsAll consecutive patients who underwent uniportal VATS between November 2018 and December 2020 in Shangjin Branch of West China Hospital of Sichuan University were retrospectively enrolled, including 62 males and 86 females with a mean age of 50.1±13.4 years. Operations included lobectomy, segmentectomy, wedge resection, mediastinal mass resection and hemopneumothorax. Accordingly, patients' clinical features in different phases were collected and compared to determine the outcome difference and learning curve for uniportal VATS.ResultsMedian postoperative hospital stay was 5 days, and the overall complication rate was 8.1% (12/148). There was no 30-day death after surgery or readmissions. Median postoperative pain score was 3. Over time, the operation time, incision length and blood loss were optimized in the uniportal VATS lobectomy, the incision length and blood loss increased in the uniportal VATS segmentectomy, and the postoperative hospital stay decreased in the uniportal VATS wedge resection.ConclusionUniportal VATS is safe and feasible for both standard and complex pulmonary resections. While, no remarkable learning curve for uniportal VATS lobectomy is observed for experienced surgeon.
ObjectiveTo analyze the learning curve of Da Vinci robotic segmentectomy. MethodsCumulative sum analysis (CUSUM) was used to analyze the learning curve of Da Vinci robotic segmentectomy performed by the General Hospital of Northern Theater Command from February 2018 to December 2020. The learning curve was obtained by fitting, and R2 was used to judge the goodness of fitting. The clinical data of patients in different stages of learning curve were compared and analyzed. Results The first 50 patients who received Da Vinci robotic segmentectomy were included, including 24 males and 26 females, with an average age of 61.9±10.6 years. The operation time decreased gradually with the accumulation of operation patients. The goodness of fitting coefficient reached the maximum value when R2=0.907 (P<0.001), CUSUM (n) =0.009×n3?0.953×n2+24.968×n?7.033 (n was the number of patients). The fitting curve achieved vertex crossing when the number of patients reached 17. Based on this, 50 patients were divided into two stages: a learning and improving stage and a mastering stage. There were statistical differences in the operation time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative drainage volume, number of lymph node dissection, postoperative catheter time, postoperative hospital stay, and postoperative complications between the two stages (P<0.05). ConclusionIt shows that the technical competency for assuring feasible perioperative outcomes can be achieved when the cumulative number of surgical patients reaches 17.
ObjectiveTo analyze the feasibility, advantages and disadvantages of the fluorescence method and the inflation-deflation method in defining the intersegmental plane during thoracoscopic lung segmental resection.MethodsFrom February to October 2018, 60 patients underwent thoracoscopic anatomical segmentectomy in Thoracic Surgery Department of Nanjing Chest Hospital, with 28 males and 32 females, aged from 25 to 82 years. Three-dimension computed tomography bronchography and angiography was used to reconstruct pulmonary vessels, bronchus and virtual intersegmental plane. Among them, 20 patients used the fluorescence method to define the intersegmental plane, and the other 40 patients used the traditional inflation-deflation method to define the intersegmental plane.ResultsFluorescent injection of indocyanine green (ICG) showed a clear intersegmental line with a duration sufficient to complete the label. With the fluorescence method, the intersegmental plane occurrence time was significantly shortened (10.75±3.78 s vs. 988.00±314.24 s, P<0.001) and had satisfactory repeatability. The lungs did not need to be inflated, which was convenient for the operation. And the operation time was shortened (108.75±31.28 min vs 138.00±32.47 min, P=0.002). No obvious ICG injection-related concurrency symptoms was found.ConclusionCompared with the traditional inflation-deflation method, the fluorescence method can display the intersegmental line quickly, accurately and clearly, reduce the difficulty of surgery, shorten the operation time, and provide reliable technical support for thoracoscopic anatomical segmentectomy. The fluorescence is a safe and effective method that is worthy of clinical application.
ObjectiveTo investigate the changes in pulmonary function after video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) and robot-assisted thoracic surgery (RATS) segmentectomy.MethodsA total of 59 patients (30 males and 29 females) who underwent segmentectomy in the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University from July to October 2017 were included. There were 33 patients (18 males and 15 females) in the VATS group and 26 patients (12 males and 14 females) in the RATS group. Lung function tests were performed before surgery, 1 month, 6 months, and 12 months after surgery. Intra- and inter-group comparisons of lung function retention values were performed between the two groups of patients to analyze differences in lung function retention after VATS and RATS segmentectomy.ResultsThe forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC) in the VATS group and the RATS group were significantly lower than those before surgery (P<0.05), and they increased significantly within 6 months after surgery (P<0.05). The recovery was not obvious after 6 months (P>0.05), and they were still lower than those before surgery. In addition, the retentions of FEV1 and FVC in the VATS group and the RATS group were similar in 1 month, 6 months, and 12 months after operation with no statistical difference(P>0.05). ConclusionPulmonary function decreases significantly in 1 month after minimally invasive segmentectomy, and the recovery is obvious in 6 months after the operation, then the pulmonary function recovery gradually stabilizes 12 months after surgery. FEV1 of the patients in the two groups recovers to 93% and 94%, respectively. There is no statistical difference in pulmonary function retention after VATS and RATS segmentectomy.
ObjectiveTo explore the clinical issues associated with video-assisted pulmonary segmentectomy and to provide reference for better implementation of thoracoscopic pulmonary segmentectomy and reduction of perioperative complications through analyzing the clinical results of thoracoscopic segmentectomy.MethodsThe clinical data of 90 patients who planned to undergo thoracoscopic segmentectomy in our department from October 2017 to December 2019 were retrospectively analyzed, including 35 males with an average age of 60.34±9.40 years and 55 females with an average age of 56.09±12.11 years. The data including lung nodule number, benign or malignant, preoperative location by Hookwire, preoperative planning and actual implementation, operation time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative drainage volume and time of drainage tube removal, postoperative hospital stay and complications were collected and analyzed.ResultsAmong the 90 patients, 38 were preoperatively positioned by Hook-wire, 52 were directly operated on; 87 were completed under thoracoscopic surgery among whom 3 underwent passive lobectomy after segmentectomy under thoracoscopic surgery, and 3 were converted to thoracotomy among whom 1 underwent lobectomy. Operation time was 198.58±56.42 min, intraoperative blood loss was 129.78±67.51 mL, lymph node samples were 6.43±1.41, drainage time was 2.98±1.25 d, the amount of postoperation drainage was 480.00±262.00 mL, hospital stay was 7.60±2.38 d. In all patients, 73 had single nodules and 17 had multiple nodules. Totally 113 pulmonary nodules were resected, 14 (12.39%) were benign nodules and 99 (87.61%) were malignant nodules. There was no perioperative death or serious complications.ConclusionFor those pulmonary parenchymal nodules which meet the indications, it is feasible to perform thoracoscopic anatomic pulmonary segmentectomy according to preoperative thin-slice CT and three-dimensional computed tomography-bronchography and angiography (3D-CTBA) reconstruction results. Preoperative Hookwire localization can ensure effective edge resection and reduce unplanned lobotomy for intersegmental nodules and non-palpable peripheral pure ground-glass nodules.
Objective To investigate the benefits of using a stapler tractor in the treatment of segmental bronchus during lung segmentectomy through detailed video replay analysis of surgical procedures. Methods We collected data from patients who underwent segmentectomy performed by the same surgical team in the Department of Thoracic Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, from November 2020 to August 2023. After excluding data that lacked analysis parameters, the remaining patients were divided into four groups based on the methods used for dissociating segmental bronchus: a stapler tractor group (group A), a stapler with bronchial stretching group (group B), a stapler only group (group C), and a silk ligature group (group D). Then, we compared baseline data and videotaped surgical details across all groups. Surgical details included the success rate of one-time segmental bronchus dissociation and severance, the time taken for successful one-time dissociation and severance of the segmental bronchus, the incidence of bleeding during bronchus dissociation, the conversion rate to thoracotomy during surgery, and surgical outcomes such as total operative time, postoperative hospitalization days, postoperative thoracic drainage volume, and pulmonary air leakage rate. Results The study included 325 patients (203 in the group A, 62 in the group B, 29 in the group C, and 31 in the group D). There was no statistically significant difference in baseline data among the four groups. However, significant differences were found in terms of total operation time, postoperative hospitalization days, intraoperative blood loss, segmental bronchial stump length, postoperative air leakage rate, hemorrhage rate during segmental bronchial dissociation, and conversion to thoracotomy rate among the four groups (P<0.05). ConclusionUsing a stapler tractor for dissociating segmental bronchus in lung segmentectomy results in shorter operative time, less risk of intraoperative bleeding, and less surgical complications. This study provides valuable evaluation methodologies through the analysis of video replay surgical details, contributing to the improvement of lung segmentectomy quality.
Objective To investigate the surgical procedure selection, operation technique and safety of anatomic sublobar resection for pulmonary nodules. Methods The clinical data of 242 patients with clinical stage ⅠA lung cancer who underwent anatomic sublobar resection in our hospital between 2017 and 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 81 males and 161 females with a median age of 57.0 (50.0, 65.0) years. They were divided into 4 groups according to the surgical methods, including a segmentectomy group (n=148), a combined segmentectomy group (n=31), an enlarged segmentectomy group (n=43) and an anatomic wedge resection group (n=20). The preoperative CT data, operation related indexes and early postoperative outcomes of each group were summarized. Results The median medical history of the patients was 4.0 months. The median maximum diameter of nodule on CT image was 1.1 cm, and the consolidation/tumor ratio (CTR) was ≤0.25 in 81.0% of the patients. A total of 240 patients were primary lung adenocarcinoma. The median operation time was 130.0 min, the median blood loss was 50.0 mL, the median chest drainage time was 3.0 d, and the hospitalization cost was (53.0±12.0) thousand yuan. The operation time of combined segmentectomy was longer than that of the segmentectomy group (P=0.001). The operation time (P=0.000), intraoperative blood loss (P=0.000), lymph nodes dissected (P=0.007) and cost of hospitalization (P=0.000) in the anatomic wedge resection group were shorter or less than those in the other three groups. There was no significant difference in the drainage time, total drainage volume, air leakage or postoperative hospital stay among the four groups (P>0.05). Conclusion The combined application of segmentectomy and wedge resection technique provides a more flexible surgical option for the surgical treatment of early lung cancer with ground glass opacity as the main component.