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The da Vinci single port surgical system (SP) is the newest iteration of robotic technology, which combines the camera and all instruments into a single port. Robotic assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) with intracorporeal urinary diversion has classically been a difficult operation. Here we describe our technique for RARC with the SP and review our initial outcomes and data in the literature. Four patients at our institution underwent single port robotic assisted radical cystectomy with intracorporeal ileal conduit using the da Vinci SP surgical system. Operative steps were performed as described. Perioperative outcomes were reviewed. All patients successfully underwent the procedure without intraoperative complications. The average operative time was 270 minutes with an EBL of 250 cc. The average nodal harvest was 12.5. The average length of stay was 5.5 days. There was one 30-day Clavien Grade II complication and no additional 90-day complications. With our initial experience with the da Vinci surgical system, radical cystectomy with intracorporeal urinary diversion can be performed safely and quickly with the right technique. Our outcomes are similar to other initially published data. Further study is necessary to determine the additional benefits and clinical outcomes.

Background We performed robotic parotidectomy with or without robotic neck dissection via a retroauricular approach in patients with parotid benign and malignant tumors and analyzed treatment outcomes of the patients to evaluate the safety and feasibility of robotic parotidectomy. Methods Between January 2017 and July 2018, 53 patients received robotic parotidectomy with/without robotic neck dissection through a remote access retroauricular incision without a preauricular incision. Results All operations were successfully performed in all patients without significant perioperative complications or tumor spillage. Tumors were located in the superficial lobe of the parotid gland in 40 patients, and the remaining 13 tumors were located in the deep lobe of the parotid gland. Postoperative pathologic examination revealed benign tumor in 32 patients and malignant tumors in 18 patients. The mean operation time was 226 minutes in patients who underwent only parotidectomy and 375 minutes in patients who underwent parotidectomy with robotic neck dissection. The average amount of bleeding was 23 mL, and the amount of drainage after operation averaged 171 mL. The average length of hospital stay was 6 days. Postoperative complications were limited to transient facial paralysis in three patients, all of which resolved within 1 month. All patients were satisfied with their cosmetic results at 6 months after operation. Conclusions Robotic parotidectomy with/without robotic neck dissection through a retroauricular approach was a feasible and safe technique in patients with parotid benign and malignant tumor. Specifically, we found it to be helpful in young patients with malignant parotid tumors who should receive cervical lymphadenectomy and parotidectomy, because it does not leave a visible scar on the face or neck. In the future, long-term follow-up will be necessary to validate its oncologic safety and functional outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Safety and short-term efficacy of robot-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (RATS) for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have been previously proven; however, RATS for N2 stage NSCLC was barely evaluated. The aim of this randomized controlled trial (RCT) was to explore the short-term outcome of RATS for cN2 stage NSCLC. METHODS: Total of 113 patients who were diagnosed with clinically single cN2 stage NSCLC were enrolled and randomly assigned to RATS and thoracotomy groups. The patients in RATS group were treated by lobectomy and mediastinal lymph node dissection using the da Vinci Surgical System, while the patients in thoracotomy group underwent lobectomy and mediastinal lymph node dissection from. And, short-term outcomes were analyzed statistically. RESULTS: The data from 108 subjects (58 in RATS and 55 in thoracotomy groups) were eligible for analyses. Five patients who received robot-assisted lobectomy initially was converted intraoperatively to open operation due to extensive pleural adhesion and equipment issues. And, one subject underwent robot-assisted surgery was died preoperatively due to pulmonary embolism. Compared with thoracotomy, RATS was associated with less intraoperative blood loss (86.3±41.1 vs. 165.7±46.4 mL, P

Background: There are several techniques for robotic-assisted pulmonary resection, depending on the number and position of ports and utility incisions. We developed a technique for three-incision robotic- assisted pulmonary resection, and here we reported our initial results. Methods: Three-incision pulmonary resection with the da Vinci surgical system (Intuitive Surgical, Sunnyvale, CA, USA) was attempted in 153 patients. Robotic instruments were used for individual dissection of the hilar structures through two thoracoscopic ports and a 3-cm utility incision without rib spreading. Data on patient characteristics and perioperative results were prospectively collected. Results: Between December 2016 and December 2018, a single surgeon performed three-incision robotic- assisted pulmonary resection on 153 consecutive patients in the Thoracic Surgery Department of the Second Xiangya Hospital. There was no emergent conversion to thoracotomy. Median operative time was 146.84 minutes (range, 40–320 minutes), and the median estimated blood loss was 62.70 mL (range, 5–200 mL). The mean postoperative days before chest tubes were removed was 3.91 (range, 2–18), and the mean postoperative days before patients were discharged was 5.34 (range, 2–20). The median number of lymph node stations dissected was 5 (range, 1–9). The mean number of nodes resected was 12 (range, 1–35), and postoperative complications were observed in 12 patients (7.84%). Conclusions: Three-incision robotic-assisted pulmonary resection is practicable, safe, and ideal for novices experienced in video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) surgery. It also appears to be oncologically acceptable for lung cancer; however, more studies on a large population are necessary to confirm these conclusions.

Anatomical segmentectomy for medial (S7) and anterior basal segments (S8) is still challenging even with substantial progress in surgical technique over these years. We believe that segmentectomy could be much more comfortable with the application of the da Vinci surgical system in thoracic surgery. With nearly 10-year experience of robotic thoracic surgery, we gradually develop a new way of port placement and surgery. Here we present a step-by-step right medial and anterior basal segmentectomy (S7+S8) with a high-quality video and preference cards.

We report a case of anterior bronchogenic mediastinal cyst (ABMC) in old age patient underwent Robotic Thoracic Surgery (da Vinci Surgical System). Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) represents the routine approach in posterior bronchogenic mediastinal cyst, but some limitation for resection of mediastinal mass located in the anterior mediastinum has been reported. The introduction of da Vinci surgical system has overcome the surgical limits of VATS as two dimensional vision (2D) and the use of long rigid instruments with poor maneuverability in case of fine dissection.

Background: Robotic assisted videothoracoscopic surgery (RVATS) adoption has increased worldwide from 3.4% in 2010 to 17.5% in 2015. However, in Latin America, the literature is limited to a report of a series of 10 patients who underwent RVATS lobectomy and one case report of an RVATS thymectomy from Brazil. Methods: This is a retrospective review of all RVATS performed in Bogota Colombia since 2012. A single thoracic surgeon (RB) performed all the operations at three institutions: Clinica de Marly, Fundacion Clinica Shaio and Instituto Nacional de Cancerologia. Preoperative, intraoperative, postoperative and pathology report variables were included. Patients were analyzed in three groups: robotic RVATS pulmonary resections, RVATS mediastinal surgeries and other RVATS procedures. Descriptive statistics were used to report the median and interquartile range (IQR) of the continuous variables, and number and percentage were used to describe categorical variables. The association between total operative time and the year the surgery was analyzed using a linear regression model. Results: Forty-seven patients underwent RVATS pulmonary resections; 72.3% (n=34) of these patients underwent a RVATS lobectomy. The median total operative time was 220 (IQR: 200 to 250) minutes, 6.4% (n=3) had intraoperative complications, and the most frequent histologic diagnosis was adenocarcinoma (n=24, 51.1%). Of 18 patients who underwent RVATS mediastinal surgeries, 50.0% (n=9) had RVATS thymectomy, the median total operative time was 195.5 (IQR: 131 to 221) minutes and two patients (11.1%) had intraoperative complications. The linear regression model of the association between total operative time and the year the surgery showed a 10.3 minute reduction per year (P=0.006). Conclusions: This is the second series of RVATS published in Latin America and the first published in Colombia, with comparable perioperative results to other reports.

The "da Vinci Surgical System" is a robotic surgical system that utilizes multi-jointed robotic arms and a high-resolution three-dimensional video-monitoring system. We report on the state of transition from video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) to robotic pulmonary surgery, the surgical outcomes of robotic surgery compared to VATS, and the future of robotic surgery. Surgery utilizing the da Vinci Surgical System requires a console surgeon and assistant who have been certified by Intuitive Surgical, Inc., the system manufacturer. On the basis of the available medical literature, a robotic lobectomy has a learning curve that extends over approximately 20 cases for a surgeon who has mastered VATS. Surgery using the da Vinci System is safe, is associated with lower morbidity and mortality rates than thoracotomy, leads to shorter postoperative hospital stays, and ensures improved postoperative quality of life. Currently, no prospective studies comparing it to VATS have been conducted. The various studies that have compared robotic surgery and VATS have reported different results. At the present time, the benefits to patients of robotic surgery compared to VATS remain unclear. Areas in which robotic surgery may be superior to VATS include the superior operability of robotic surgery that improves safety and decreases the incidence of complication. To show that the costly robotic surgery is superior to VATS, prospective multicenter randomized studies need to be conducted. The da Vinci robot-assisted surgical system has already been highly evaluated for its safety, with recent studies reporting satisfactory outcomes. It remains necessary to verify whether the benefits to patients justify the higher cost of robotic surgery. Future developments in the field of robotic engineering will likely lead to the creation of systems that are even less invasive and allow for more advanced surgical techniques.

A surgeon needs to perform a sufficient number of procedures to achieve a level of proficiency. Learning curves demonstrate ongoing improvement in efficiency over the course of a surgeon's carrier. When the surgeon learns the procedure, this means that he has the ability to perform that procedure safely and effectively. The instruction of the da Vinci Surgical System (Initiative Surgical, Sunnyvale, CA, USA) provoked the need for preparing surgeons for complex robotic skills. As low as 5 repetitions are enough to achieve proficiency on basic robotic skills. Robotic-assisted thoracic surgery (RATS) has a steep learning curve compared to video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS), and it was proposed that 15 to 20 operations are required to establish a learning curve for RATS anatomical pulmonary resections. Based on several studies, one can conclude that after learning, there is a tendency to toward shorter operative times, a decrease in conversion, morbidity and mortality rates, as well as an increase in the number of resected lymph nodes. Our clinical experience on 129 patients undergoing RATS anatomic pulmonary resections over a period of 5-year demonstrated that the learning curve could be established after 14th operation, and the acquired surgical skills and developing experience let surgeon to obtain shorter operative times, operate larger tumors with more advanced stages, have an increased the number of the dissected lymph nodes.

Given to the approval of FDA about the Da Vinci Surgical System for gynecological surgery, it has been rapidly adopted and it has already assumed as an important position at various centers where this is available.

We describe the surgical techniques for robotic subxiphoid thymectomy when using the da Vinci surgical system. A 3-cm vertical incision is made approximately 1 cm below the xiphoid process on the caudal side. A space is then created to allow for port insertion blindly by the finger around the layer at the back of the rectus abdominis muscle. The wound retractor that comes with the GelPOINT Mini ® , which is a port designed for single-port surgery, is inserted through the subxiphoid incision. Insufflation and exhaustion tubes are connected to the three-way stopcock of the platform, and CO2 gas is injected at 8 mmHg. The bilateral mediastinal pleura is dissected to bilaterally open the chest cavity. A 1-cm skin incision is made on either side of the 6th intercostal space precordial axillary line, followed by insertion of a robotic surgery port. If a retraction arm is used, the port should be inserted 4–6 cm away from the main port along the anterior to the midaxillary line at the right 6th intercostal space. Bilateral phrenic nerves can be located easily by robotic subxiphoid thymectomy while easily securing a clear view of the operative field. We expect this approach to be applied to more complicated surgeries, such as combined resection of adjacent organs in thymectomy.

Currently, surgical techniques that are less invasive than conventional median sternotomy are used for thymectomy in the treatment of myasthenia gravis and anterior mediastinal tumors as no sternal incision is required. We reported on a subxiphoid single-port thymectomy using CO2 insufflation, which has the following advantages: (I) the field of view offered by the camera scope inserted from the midline of the body helps confirm the location of the superior pole of the thymus and bilateral phrenic nerves; (II) there is minimal pain and no intercostal neuropathy occurs as intercostal spaces are not traversed; and (III) cosmetic outcomes are excellent. However, a drawback of this approach is that it requires familiarity with the single-port surgical procedure. Various surgical modifications have been suggested for the subxiphoid approach, which we currently use for thymectomy. These include subxiphoid single-port thymectomy; subxiphoid dual-port thymectomy (DPT) wherein an additional lateral thoracic intercostal port is added, which is used for more complicated surgeries; and subxiphoid robotic thymectomy using the da Vinci Surgical System. Here we report on these techniques. A subxiphoid approach in thymectomy is advantageous to patients as it minimizes or avoids the occurrence of intercostal neuropathy. Moreover, a subxiphoid approach provides the surgeon with a good field of view of the cervical region and helps confirm the location of the bilateral phrenic nerves. Therefore, thymectomy using a subxiphoid approach should be considered an option for a minimally invasive surgery.

With the widely application of da Vinci Surgical System in thoracic surgery, which has advantages such as less trauma, less bleeding, and quick recovery, the delivery of specialized nursing care has come to the forefront. However, there were few studies about the postoperative nursing for robot surgery. Therefore, we summarized our experience on enhanced recovery after robotic-assisted thoracic surgery.

The da Vinci Surgical System is an advanced minimally invasive surgical technique that has been widely applied in many fields of surgery. It was adopted relatively late in China, and its use in thoracic surgery is still growing. In this paper, we summarized its present applications in thoracic surgery. We also objectively evaluated its advantages and disadvantages in comparison with traditional open chest surgery and video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). We believe that this technology has the potential to markedly change general thoracic surgery.

Surgical technology, especially da Vinci Surgical System, has reinforced people’s understanding of the structure and anatomy of organ under 3D imaging technology in clinical application. The anatomy of prostate and surrounding tissue has features of multiple-layers and great variation. So, application of 3D imaging in anatomy has new progress and positive clinical anticipated effect in radical prostatectomy, especially for complete dissection of tumor, urinary continence and protection of sexual function. Therefore, 3D imaging technology provides an innovative visual experience, and it will create a promising prospect in the preciseness of surgical operation as more experiences accumulated in the future.