P1.08-040 Lymph Node Sampling in 3-Port Video Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery (VATS) vs Uniportal VATS

Abstract

VATS is fast overtaking thoracotomy as the approach to lobectomies due to faster recovery times. Uniportal VATS lobectomies are slowly becoming more popular throughout the world but the advantages of Uniportal VATS over the standard 3-port approach is unclear. The lung resection can often be performed via a Uniportal approach although concurrent lymphadenectomy/lymph node sampling, may be more challenging. We explored the adequacy of lymph node sampling at our unit as per the ESTS 2006 guidelines on intraoperative lymph node staging. All Primary Lung cancers (Non-small cell lung cancers) performed by 4 VATS surgeons from May 2015-July 2016 were included in the study. A single surgeon performed all the Uniportal VATS lobectomies. The standard 3-port approach was employed by 4 VATS surgeons. Patient demographic details and length of stay were obtained from our Cardiothoracic Database (CaTHi) alongside pathological findings. The patients in the standard cohort had a higher ThoracoScore indicating increased risk of surgery. There was no statistically significant demographic difference between the two groups. The rate of lymph node dissection was similar in both groups. Despite the perceived limited access, uniportal VATS has shown to be as good as standard 3 port VATS for lymph node sampling intraoperatively.