Robotic approach for early stage thymic tumors—surgical and oncologic outcomes

Abstract

Thymoma is a rare tumor with epithelial origin, which represents about 50% of the malignant lesions of the anterior mediastinum. This neoplasm is often associated with myasthenia gravis (MG), in fact, about 30% of the patients with thymoma develops symptoms of myasthenia. The gold standard in the treatment of thymoma is surgical resection and according to ITMIG guidelines is recommended extended thymectomy, particularly in myasthenic patients. For a long time, sternotomy has represented the approach of choice for the exeresis of anterior mediastinal lesions. Nevertheless, nowadays, the advancement of new technologies has allowed the use of minimally invasive methods such as robotic surgery.