Comparison of short-term efficacy between robot-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy and video-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy for esophageal cancer

Abstract:

Objective：To compare the short-term efficacy between robot-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy（RAMIE） and video-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy（VAMIE） for esophageal cancer. Methods：The clinical data of 67 patients were collected who underwent minimally invasive esophagectomy（RAMIE or VAMIE） without any preoperative neoadjuvant therapy in our hospital from January 2016 to March 2018. Of the 67 patients，34 who underwent RAMIE were assigned to robot group，while the re－maining ones who underwent VAMIE were assigned to thoracoscope/laparoscope group. Results：The robot group had significantly longer operation time compared with the thoracoscope/laparoscope group[（387.4±108.5） min vs. （320.6±65.6） min，Z=-2.598，P=0.009]. The mean number of dissected lymph nodes was significantly higher in the robot group than in the thoracoscope/laparoscope group（25.5±6.2 vs. 21.9±7.1，Z=-2.003，P=0.045）. There were no significant differences between the robot group and the thoraco－scope/laparoscope group with respect to intraoperative blood loss[（180.9±383.1） mL vs. （222.1±431.4） mL，t=-0.464，P=0.644]，mean postoperative hospital stay[（16.7±9.8） d vs. （16.0±9.8） d，Z=-0.088，P=0.930]，and overall complications（32.4% vs. 36.4%，χ2=0.119，P=0.730）. Conclusions：Compared with VAMIE，RAMIE is safer and more feasible in the treatment of esophageal cancer and can remove more lymph nodes.