Reduced incidence of significant vessel injury in robotic-assisted thoracic surgery compared with video-assisted thoracic surgery.

Authors

Hitoshi Igai, Akinobu Ida, Kazuhito Nii, Mitsuhiro Kamiyoshihara

Published in

Surgical endoscopy. Jun 22, 2026. Epub Jun 22, 2026.

Abstract

This study compared the incidence of intraoperative significant vessel injury between robotic-assisted thoracic surgery (RATS) and video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) during major pulmonary resection.
This retrospective study included 1215 patients who underwent major pulmonary resection via a minimally invasive approach between October 2012 and August 2025 at our institution: 903 underwent VATS (413 uniport, 490 multiport) and 312 underwent RATS. Propensity scores were calculated using preoperative variables, and stabilized inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) was applied. The primary outcome was intraoperative significant vessel injury, defined as bleeding that required additional hemostatic intervention, such as sealant application, clipping, or suturing, after initial compression. Weighted logistic regression was used to assess the association between surgical approach and significant vessel injury. Secondary perioperative outcomes were also compared.
After IPTW adjustment, baseline characteristics were well balanced. RATS was associated with a significantly lower risk of intraoperative significant vessel injury than VATS (adjusted odds ratio [OR]: 0.21, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.08-0.54, P = 0.001). In an exploratory three-group analysis, RATS showed a lower risk than multiport VATS (OR: 0.15, 95% CI: 0.06-0.40, P < 0.001) and a borderline lower risk than uniport VATS (OR: 0.35, 95% CI: 0.12-1.00, P = 0.050). RATS was also associated with more favorable perioperative outcomes.
RATS was associated with a lower risk of intraoperative significant vessel injury than VATS and with favorable short-term perioperative outcomes during major pulmonary resection.

PMID:
42332306
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 23 Jun 2026.

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