Abstract: Objective To discuss the security, effectiveness and risk factors of videoassisted thoracoscopic surgery for posterior mediastinal tumors. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the data of 59 patients including 36 men and 23 women who underwent thoracoscopic resection of posterior mediastinal tumors in People’s Hospital of Peking University from May 2001 to July 2009. Their age ranged from 6 to 73 years old with an average age of 40.6 years old. The average maximum diameter of the tumors was 4.86 cm. All procedures were performed under general anesthesia and tumors were cut out with three ports. The anterior port was extended to 6 to 10 cm when conversion to thoracotomy was needed. After mediastinal pleura were opened, the tumor was stripped out along the outside of peplos and the vascular pedicle nerves were managed respectively. Results All surgeries were carried out successfully. The surgical duration, perioperative blood loss, postoperative chest tube duration and postoperative stay in hospital were respectively 45-300 min(125.80±57.40 min), 10-1 000 ml(168.10±157.70 ml), 1-10 d(2.50±1.74 d), and 2-14 d(5.24±2.24 d). There were 6 cases of conversion to open thoracotomy with a conversion rate of 10.2%. Postoperative pathology showed that there were 46 cases of neurogenic tumors, 10 cases of cyst, 2 cases of teratoma, and 1 case of lipoma. Follow-up was done on 51 cases for a period of 7-108 months(55.0±24.0 months) and 8(13.6%) cases were missed out during the period. No recurrence or death occurred during the followup. Logistic multivariable analysis showed that maximum diameter of the tumor ≥6 cm was the independent risk factor for extending operative time (OR=1.932，P=0.004), increasing perioperative blood loss (OR=2.267，P=0.002), increasing conversion rate to thoracotomy (OR=3.123，P=0.004) and increasing postoperative complication rate (OR=1.778，P=0.013). Conclusion Videoassisted thoracoscopic surgery for posterior mediastinal tumor is safe and effective. Maximum diameter of the tumor ≥6 cm is an independent risk factor for increasing operation difficulty and risk.
ObjectiveTo compare the short-term clinical effects of Da Vinci robot-assisted thoracic surgery (RATS) and video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) in the treatment of posterior mediastinal tumors, and to explore the advantages of RATS posterior mediastinal tumor resection. MethodsThe clinical data of patients who underwent posterior mediastinal tumors resection through the lateral chest approach admitted to the same medical group in the Department of Thoracic Surgery of the First Hospital of Lanzhou University between January 2019 to January 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. According to the different surgical methods, the patients were divided into a RATS group and a VATS group. The clinical data were compared between the two groups. ResultsA total of 85 patients were included in this study. There were 39 patients in the RATS group, including 25 females and 14 males, with an average age of 47.6±13.0 years, and 46 patients in the VATS group, including 14 males and 32 females, with an average age of 45.3±14.7 years. All patients completed the operation successfully. The hospitalization cost in the RATS group was significantly higher than that in the VATS group (P<0.001), and the white blood cell count and neutrophilic granulocyte percentage on the first day after operation in the RATS group were lower than those in the VATS group, and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). The operative time, intraoperative bleeding, postoperative hospital stay, white blood cell count and neutrophil percentage on the third postoperative day, visual analogue scale score on the first and third postoperative days, duration of analgesic pump use, postoperative 12 h oxygen saturation (no oxygen inhalation), postoperative down bed time, total thoracic drainage volume, duration of drainage tube retention, and postoperative complication rates were not statistically different between the two groups (P>0.05). There was no perioperative death, conversion to thoracotomy or serious perioperative complications in both groups. ConclusionRATS resection of posterior mediastinal tumor via lateral thoracic approach is safe and feasible, and its short-term effect is similar to that of VATS via lateral thoracic single-hole approach. It is worth further comparative study to explore its benefit and cost performance.