Faculty Bibliography

OBJECTIVES/UNASSIGNED:Early removal of chest tubes reduces pain and morbidity. This study aimed to remove chest tubes immediately after robotic pulmonary resection with complete thoracic lymphadenectomy by administering ice cream to rule out chylothorax. METHODS/UNASSIGNED:This quality improvement study utilized prospectively gathered data from one thoracic surgeon. Patients were given 3.6 fl oz of ice cream in the recovery room within 1 h after their operation. Chest tubes were removed within 4 h if there was no chylous drainage and air leak on the digital drainage system. RESULTS/UNASSIGNED:From January 2022 to August 2023, 343 patients underwent robotic pulmonary resection with complete thoracic lymphadenectomy. The median time to ingest the ice cream was 1.5 h after skin closure. The incidence of chylothorax was 0.87% (3/343). Two patients were diagnosed with chylothorax after consuming ice cream within 4 h of surgery. One patient, whose chest tube remained in place due to an air leak, had a chylothorax diagnosed on postoperative day 1 (POD1). All three patients were discharged home on POD1 with their chest tubes in place, adhering to a no-fat, medium-chain triglyceride diet. All chylothoraces resolved within 6 days. None of the remaining patients developed chylothorax postoperatively with a minimum follow-up period of 90 days. CONCLUSIONS/UNASSIGNED:Providing ice cream to patients after pulmonary resection and complete thoracic lymphadenectomy is an effective and reliable technique to rule out chylothorax early in the postoperative period and facilitates early chest tube removal. Further studies are needed to ensure that this simple, inexpensive test is reproducible.

OBJECTIVE/UNASSIGNED:Chest tubes cause pain and morbidity. METHODS/UNASSIGNED:This is a quality initiative study and review of patients who underwent robotic pulmonary resection by 1 surgeon (R.J.C.). The goal was to remove chest tubes within 4 to 12 hours after robotic segmentectomy and lobectomy. Primary outcome was removal without the need for reinsertion, thoracentesis, or any morbidity due to early removal of the chest tube. Secondary outcomes were symptomatic pneumothorax, pleural effusion, chylothorax, subcutaneous emphysema, and chest tube reinsertion or thoracentesis within 60 days of surgery. RESULTS/UNASSIGNED: = .001) were associated with chest tube removal within 4 to 12 hours of surgery. CONCLUSIONS/UNASSIGNED:Chest tubes can be safely removed within 4 to 12 hours after robotic segmentectomy and lobectomy. Factors associated with successful early chest tube removal are nonsmoking, segmentectomy, and team members becoming comfortable with the process.

OBJECTIVE/UNASSIGNED:Chest tubes are frequently placed after thymectomy, without data to support this common practice. We report our experience in eliminating them after robotic thymectomy. METHODS/UNASSIGNED:This is a retrospective database review of patients who underwent robotic thymectomy performed by a single surgeon in which intraoperative chest tube insertion was not planned. Patient characteristics and postoperative outcomes are presented. RESULTS/UNASSIGNED:Between January 2018 and October 2022, 75 patients underwent robotic thymectomy performed by a single surgeon. Of those, 64 (85.3%) underwent a left-sided thoracic approach. The most common indication for resection was a suspicious anterior mediastinal mass. There were no conversions to an open operation. The median operative time was 72 minutes (range, 38-164 minutes), and the median estimated blood loss was 20 cc (range, 10-60 cc). Ten patients (13.3%) went home on the day of surgery, and all others (86.7%) were discharged on postoperative day 1. A chest tube was placed in 1 patient at time of closure because of a persistent air leak after extensive adhesiolysis from a prior thoracotomy; the tube was removed on the day of surgery after resolution of the air leak. No other patient required chest tube placement intraoperatively, immediately postoperatively, or within 60 days postoperation. Two patients underwent outpatient thoracentesis within 1 month postoperation for effusions. There were no 30- or 90-day mortality and no major morbidities. CONCLUSIONS/UNASSIGNED:A chest tube after robotic thymectomy is not necessary in almost all patients and can be safely omitted. The dogmatic routine practice of chest tube placement should be questioned.

OBJECTIVE:The aim of this study was to analyze overall survival of robotic-assisted lobectomy (RL), video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy (VATS) and open lobectomy (OL) performed by experienced thoracic surgeons across multiple institutions. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA/BACKGROUND:Surgeons have increasingly adopted RL for resection of early-stage lung cancer. Comparative survival data following these approaches is largely from single-institution case series or administrative datasets. METHODS:Retrospective data was collected from 21 institutions from 2013-2019. Consecutive cases performed for clinical stage IA-IIIA lung cancer were included. Induction therapy patients were excluded. The propensity-score method of inverse-probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) was used to balance baseline characteristics. Overall survival (OS) was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard models were used to evaluate association among OS and relevant risk factors. RESULTS:A total of 2,789 RL, 2,661 VATS, and 1,196 OL cases were included. The unadjusted 5-year overall survival rate was highest for OL (84%) followed by RL (81%) and VATS (74%); P=0.008. Similar trends were also observed after IPTW adjustment (RL 81%; VATS 73%, OL 85%, P=0.001). Multivariable Cox regression analyses revealed that OL and RL were associated with significantly higher overall survival compared to VATS (OL vs. VATS: HR 0.64, P<0.001 and RL vs. VATS: HR 0.79; P=0.007). CONCLUSIONS:Our finding from this large multicenter study suggests that patients undergoing RL and OL have statistically similar OS, while the VATS group was associated with shorter OS. Further studies with longer follow-up are necessary to help evaluate these observations.

OBJECTIVE:The aim of this study was to analyze outcomes of open lobectomy (OL), video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy (VATS) and robotic-assisted lobectomy (RL). SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA/BACKGROUND:Robotic-assisted lobectomy has seen increasing adoption for treatment of early-stage lung cancer. Comparative data regarding these approaches is largely from single-institution case series or administrative datasets. METHODS:Retrospective data was collected from 21 institutions from 2013-2019. All consecutive cases performed for clinical stage IA-IIIA lung cancer were included. Neoadjuvant cases were excluded. Propensity-score matching (1:1) was based on age, gender, race, smoking-status, FEV1%, Zubrod score, ASA score, tumor size and clinical T and N stage. RESULTS:A total of 2,391 RL, 2,174 VATS, and 1,156 OL cases were included. After propensity-score matching there were 885 pairs of RL vs. OL, 1,711 pairs of RL vs. VATS, and 952 pairs of VATS vs. OL. Operative time for RL was shorter than VATS (p < 0.0001) and OL (p = 0.0004). Compared to OL, RL and VATS had less overall postoperative complications, shorter hospital stay (LOS), and lower transfusion rates (all p < 0.02). Compared to VATS, RL had lower conversion rate (p < 0.0001), shorter hospital stay (p < 0.0001) and a lower postoperative transfusion rate (p = 0.01). RL and VATS cohorts had comparable postoperative complication rates. In-hospital mortality was comparable between all groups. CONCLUSIONS:RL and VATS approaches were associated with favorable perioperative outcomes compared to OL. Robotic-assisted lobectomy was also associated with a reduced length of stay and decreased conversion rate when compared to VATS.

Solitary fibrous tumors (SFTs) are rare mesenchymal pleural neoplasms with an overall good prognosis and low recurrence rate if completely resected and if degree of differentiation is favorable. Within the last decade, advances in research have led to more reliable methods of differentiating SFTs from other soft tissue tumors. Historically, several markers were used to distinguish SFTs from similar tumors, but these markers had poor specificity. Recent evidence showed NAB2-STAT6 fusion gene to be a distinct feature of SFTs with 100% specificity and sensitivity. Surgical resection, with an emphasis on obtaining negative margins, is the mainstay of treatment for SFTs. Preoperative planning with detailed imaging is imperative to delineate the extent of disease and vascular supply. One important radiologic distinction to aid delineation of a pleural-based tumor compared to a pulmonary parenchymal-based tumor is the angle that the tumor forms with the chest wall, which is obtuse for a pleural-based tumor, and acute for tumors of the lung parenchyma. Often, preoperative tissue diagnosis is not available, and surgery is both diagnostic and curative. Intraoperatively, emphasis should be on complete resection with negative margins. SFTs are resected via several approaches: thoracotomy, sternotomy with the option of hemi-clamshell extension, video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery, and robotic approach, which is increasingly being used and is our preference. We recommend a minimally invasive approach for most lesions, and have resected SFTs of the pleura that are up to 12 cm with the robotic approach. However, the current literature often cites 5 cm as the cut off for an open thoracotomy. Nevertheless, even with larger tumors, a minimally invasive robotic approach is our preference and practice. For giant SFTs (> 20 cm), an open approach may be preferable. Multiple thoracotomies and rib resection may be required to gain adequate exposure and ensure complete resection in these tumors. However, it is noteworthy that most of these tumors have a soft consistency and thus, once bagged, can easily be removed minimally invasively, and thus minimally invasive approach should not be completely ruled out. Recurrence in SFTs usually results from incomplete resection and redo surgery may portend a favorable prognosis.