A rehabilitation comparison of thoracoscopic and robotic lobectomy

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to compare rehabilitation after lobectomy performed with a Da Vinci robot versus thoracoscopy. Materials and Methods: Patients who underwent lobectomy at the Changzhou First People’s Hospital from November 2020 to May 2021 were analyzed retrospectively, including 182 patients in the Da Vinci robot group and 280 patients in the thoracoscopy group. Postoperative hospital stay and postoperative pain were compared between groups. Results: The hospitalization cost of the Da Vinci robot group was $ 10874.06 ± 1757.07, which was higher than that of the thoracoscopy group ($ 7500.96 ± 1704.83). The postoperative hospital stay was significantly shorter in the Da Vinci robot group (4.74 ± 2.104 days) than that in the thoracoscopy group (5.55 ± 2.669 days; t = −3.664, P < 0.001). No significant differences between groups were observed in postoperative intensive care unit admission time and postoperative chest tube indwelling time. The proportion of patients with no pain 2 h after the operation was significantly higher in the Da Vinci robot group than in the thoracoscopy group (26.9% vs. 11.8%; χ 2 = 17.639, P < 0.001). The proportion of patients with no pain during the first activity was significantly higher in the Da Vinci robot group than in the thoracoscopy group (54.9% vs. 39.6%; χ 2 = 12.109, P = 0.004). Conclusion: The total cost of Da Vinci robotic surgery was higher than that of thoracoscopy for lobectomy, but the postoperative recovery was better, and the pain was less severe.