2022 Volume 56 Issue 5 Pages 196-201
Purpose: We retrospectively examined the short‐term outcomes of robot‐assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy compared to open esophagectomy and thoracoscopic esophagectomy.
Patients and Methods: Between November 2018 and August 2021, we analyzed 120 patients who underwent subtotal esophagectomy for esophageal cancer. We divided patients into three groups consisting of a thoracotomy group (29 patients), a thoracoscopic group （48 patients）, and a robot‐assisted group (43 patients). The groups were compared for short‐term outcomes.
Results: Regarding postoperative respiratory complications, atelectasis was significantly lower in the robot‐assisted group than in the thoracotomy and thoracoscopic groups (p＝0.041). Pleural effusion was significantly lower in the robot‐assisted group than in the thoracoscopic group (p＝0.028); however, the incidence of pneumonia was not significantly different among the three groups. Recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis was lower in the thoracoscopic group and the robot‐assisted group than in the thoracotomy group for patients with Clavien‐Dindo classification (CD) ≥ 1. No case of recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis with CD ≥ 2 was observed in the robot‐assisted group, which was significantly less than that in the thoracotomy group (p＝0.004).
Conclusion: Robot‐assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy may reduce recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy and respiratory complications. Further case accumulation is needed.
