Experience with uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery lobectomy

Abstract

Background: In recent years, the video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery technique has evolved from > 2-port approach to a single-port approach. This led to what is now known as the uniportal technique (UVATS).
Objective: The aim of this study was to estimate the surgical outcomes of a series of patients undergoing UVATS lung lobectomy.
Materials and methods: We conducted a retrospective descriptive observational study analyzing the data of cancer patients treated with UVATS lobectomy between May 2020 and August 2022.
Results: A total of 107 lobectomies were performed with the UVATS technique; 54 (50.46%) were women. Twenty-seven patients experienced complications (25.23%), with 14 (53.84%) with persistent air leak for > 5 days, 2 (7.69%) with empyema, and 2 (7.69%) with postoperative bleeding. Only 5 (18.5%) patients with complications (bleeding, empyema and 1 patient with air leak resulting in failure of lung expansion) had to be reoperated. There were no deaths in the series. Of the 107 lobectomies, 100 (93.45%) were performed using UVATS, 5 (4.67%) required an additional port, and 2 (1.86%) were converted to thoracotomy. Length of hospital stay was 5 days or less in 73 (68.22%) patients (mode: 4 days; mean: 6.13 days). Median length of hospital stay was 5 days (IQR: 5-7).
Conclusions: UVATS could be performed safely in most patients. The conversion rate was low, and the complications were predominantly low-grade.