Minimal Invasive Thoracic Surgery Research Articles

Establishment of Mongolia's first independent and sustainable minimally invasive general thoracic surgery program: A Mongolian-Canadian initiative

ObjectiveThe advent of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery in Mongolia has faced funding and accessibility challenges, leading to languid adoption. A Mongolian-Canadian collaboration was inaugurated to support the development of a self-sustainable, self-governed minimally invasive thoracic surgery (MITS) program in Mongolia. MethodsA multidisciplinary Canadian thoracic surgery team collaborated with the National Cancer Center of Mongolia Thoracic Surgery service from 2016 to 2023. The team engaged in patient rounds, MITS procedures, and service education. Program and patient outcomes were reviewed. ResultsThirty-four patients underwent MITS procedures as part of the Mongolian-Canadian collaboration. Median age was 51 years (range, 16-76 years), and 41% (14 out of 34) were men. Lung, esophageal, and mediastinal procedures composed 50% (17 out of 34), 21% (7 out of 34), and 21% (7 out of 34) of procedures, respectively. Conversion rate, median operative time, and hospital length of stay were 0%, 172.5 minutes, and 8 days, respectively. The complication rate was 9% (3 out of 34) with 3% (1 out of 34) being Clavien-Dindo >3 requiring re-operation. Thirty-day mortality was 0%. Mongolia's thoracic surgery team progressed from surgical assists to primary operators and a self-governed program. In 2023, the National Cancer Center of Mongolia's thoracic surgery service independently conducted 72% (50 out of 69) of esophagectomies and 91% (48 out of 53) of pulmonary resections via minimally invasive technique compared with 0% in 2015. ConclusionsThe Mongolian-Canadian collaboration demonstrated successful transfer of MITS proficiency through global noncolonialist surgical partnership, consequentially shifting the national thoracic surgical paradigm. Continued collaboration will focus on sustainability and supporting local surgeons in regional dissemination of MITS proficiency with the aim of globalizing thoracic surgical excellence.

A Comparative Study of Erector Spinae Block versus Serratus Anterior Plane Block for Pain Management Following Video Assisted Thorocoscopic Surgery

Abstract Background Pain is an everyday challenge during all surgeries and it is a chief postoperative complication, so pain management is a corner stone in anesthetic practice. Minimally invasive thoracic surgery (MITS) has become more common over the past decade, with the proportion of lung resections performed using this technique increasing from 16% in 2005 to 47% in 2015. MITS includes both video-assisted and robotic-assisted techniques, with smaller skin incisions and chest wall trauma compared with open thoracotomy, Benefits include reduced postoperative pain, morbidity, and shorter hospital stay. Objective To compare efficacy between Serratus anterior block and Erector supinae block in Video assisted thoracoscopic surgery for minimally invasive thoracic surgery as regard post operative opioid consumption. Patients and Methods The study was conducted in Ain Shams University Hospitals after approval of the ethics committee and written patients‟ consent. It included a total of 40 adult patients aged 18-70 years, Scheduled for video assisted thoracoscopic surgeries. Patients were randomly divided into two equal groups, 20each, according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results Intraoperative fentanyl consumption, postoperative opioid consumption and 1st rescue analgesic use were significantly lower in the ESPB group (P < 0.05). NRS scores were significantly lower in the ESPB group (P < 0.05) than SAPB from 2 to 8 hour only, mean arterial pressure and Heart rate was significantly lower from 2hour to 8hour in ESPB than SAPB but there were no significant difference in hemodynamics intraoperative. Conclusion Clinicians could develop a preference for either ESPB or SAPB for pain control after VATS based on their clinical experiences and personal choices. However, our study showed that US-guided ESPB may provide better pain control than SAPB.

Postoperative pneumonia in the era of minimally-invasive thoracic surgery: a narrative review

Postoperative pneumonia in the era of minimally-invasive thoracic surgery: a narrative review

Uniportal pure robotic-assisted thoracic surgery-technical aspects, tips and tricks.

The uniportal access for robotic thoracic surgery presents itself as a natural evolution of minimally invasive thoracic surgery (MITS). It was developed by surgeons who pioneered the uniportal video-assisted thoracic surgery (U-VATS) in all its aspects following the same principles of a single incision by using robotic technology. The robotic surgery was initially started as a hybrid procedure with the use of thoracoscopic staplers by the assistant. However, due to the evolution of robotic modern platforms, the staplers can be nowadays controlled by the main surgeon from the console. The pure uniportal robotic-assisted thoracic surgery (U-RATS) is defined as the robotic thoracic surgery performed through a single intercostal (ic) incision, without rib spreading, using the robotic camera, robotic dissecting instruments and robotic staplers. There are presented the advantages, difficulties, the general aspects and specific considerations for U-RATS. For safety reasons, the authors recommend the transition from multiportal-RATS through biportal-RATS to U-RATS. The use of robotic dissection and staplers through a single incision and the rapid undocking with easy emergent conversion when needed (either to U-VATS or to thoracotomy) are safety advantages over multi-port RATS that cannot be overlooked, offering great comfort to the surgeon and quick and smooth recovery to the patient.

Combined use of the Da Vinci robot system and the LungPoint Virtual Bronchoscopic Navigation system in the management of lung cancer: First Hong Kong experience

AbstractSmall ground‐glass opacity intrapulmonary lesions without preoperative histological diagnosis are difficult to localise in minimal invasive thoracic surgery, especially in robotic‐assisted surgery which has limited haptic feedback. Here we present two cases of using the LungPoint Virtual Bronchoscopic Navigation system for indocyanine green injection to assist with localization during robotic thoracic surgery, which might be a safe and feasible technique for such cases with impalpable lesions with no prior histological proof.

Dark side of the moon: the price to pay in minimally invasive thoracic surgery (MITS)

Dark side of the moon: the price to pay in minimally invasive thoracic surgery (MITS)

Intraoperative identification of pulmonary nodules during minimally invasive thoracic surgery: a narrative review.

The increasingly widespread application of computed tomography (CT) in the screening and follow-up of patients with lung disease has concomitantly increased the detection rate of pulmonary nodules. Currently, minimally invasive thoracic surgery (MITS) has become the preferred method of surgery for patients with pulmonary ground-glass nodules (GGNs) due to its advantages minimal invasiveness and rapid recovery. However, target nodule identification during MITS is sometimes challenging due to the inherent characteristics of these nodules, especially when they are small and distant from the pleura. This review details the many methods used for the intraoperative localization of pulmonary nodules. Literature published in the Cochrane Library, PubMed, ClinicalTrials, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure from 1990 to 2022 were searched and analyzed to obtain a comprehensive review of the different methods of identifying pulmonary nodules. Literature related to animal testing were excluded. An overview of the recent progress in the clinical methods for intraoperative localization of pulmonary nodules [including CT-guided percutaneous placement of markers; bronchoscopy-guided placement of markers; intraoperative ultrasonography; three-dimensional (3D) printing technology; artificial intelligence (AI); and intraoperative molecular imaging (IMI)] was conducted. The advantages and disadvantages, as well as the complications associated with existing research methods, were summarized to assist doctors in the development of optimized clinical strategies. Clinicians can communicate with the multidisciplinary team and select the appropriate positioning method according to each patient's individual situation and the available support of the equipment and technology of the institution. Certain non-invasive and specific identification methods may have clinical potential in pulmonary nodule localization in the future.

PERIOPERATIVE SMALL LUNG NODULE LOCALIZATION FOR MINIMALLY INVASIVE THORACIC SURGERY WITH AN ELECTROMAGNETIC NAVIGATIONAL SYSTEM

PERIOPERATIVE SMALL LUNG NODULE LOCALIZATION FOR MINIMALLY INVASIVE THORACIC SURGERY WITH AN ELECTROMAGNETIC NAVIGATIONAL SYSTEM

Reporting of patient safety incidents in minimally invasive thoracic surgery: a national registered thoracic surgeons experience for improvement of patient safety.

OBJECTIVESThe reporting of patient safety incidents (PSIs) occurring in minimally invasive thoracic surgery (MITS) is crucial. However, previous reports focused mainly on catastrophic events whereas minor events are often underreported.METHODSAll voluntary reports of MITS-related PSIs were retrospectively extracted from the French REX database for ‘in-depth analysis’. From 2008 to 2019, we retrospectively analysed and graded events according to the WHO classification of PSIs: near miss events, no harm incidents and harmful incidents. Causes and corrective measures were analysed according to the human-technology-organization triad.RESULTSOf the 5145 cardiothoracic surgery PSIs declared, 407 were related to MITS. Among them, MITS was performed for primary lung cancer in 317 (78%) and consisted in a lobectomy in 249 (61%) patients. PSIs were: near miss events in 42 (10%) patients, no harm incidents in 81 (20%) patients and harmful incidents in 284 (70%) patients (mild: n = 163, 40%; moderate: n = 78, 19%; severe: n = 36, 9%; and deaths: n = 7, 2%). Human factors represented the most important cause of PSIs with 267/407 (65.6%) cases, including mainly vascular injuries (n = 90; 22%) and non-vascular injuries (n = 43; 11%). Pulmonary arteries were the most affected site with 57/91 cases (62%). In all, there were 7 deaths (2%), 53 patients required second surgery (13%) and 30 required additional lung resection (7%).CONCLUSIONSThe majority of reported MITS -related PSIs were non-catastrophic. Human factors were the main cause of PSIs. Systematic reporting and analysis of these PSIs will allow surgeon and his team to avoid a large proportion of them.

Erector spinae plane block for minimally invasive thoracic surgery: a local audit and quality improvement project

Significant postoperative pain is common after minimally invasive thoracic surgery (MITS). This can be mitigated with regional anaesthesia in conjunction with systemic multimodal analgesia. The erector spinae plane block (ESPB), a recently established interfascial block, has demonstrated effective postoperative analgesia after thoracic surgery,1 with fewer risks compared with paravertebral block (PVB). The introduction of ESP catheters for continuous infusion or intermittent bolus administration of local anaesthetic can provide further analgesia in the postoperative period,2 however, sufficient data are lacking.

Minimally Invasive Thoracic Surgery - Video Assisted Thoracic Surgery: Technique and Indications

Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery (VATS) is already practised worldwide, in almost every condition addressed by open thoracic surgery. As part of minimally invasive thoracic surgery (MITS), VATS offers to patients and to healthcare providers excellent results and great satisfactions. Learning and performing VATS use different pathways in trainees and in experienced surgeons. This article presents VATS in its essence: classification, indications, contraindications, instruments and tools, incisions and access, troubleshooting, learning curve and training. We wish that the information helps our colleagues, both trainees and experienced thoracic surgeons, to start and continue performing VATS as standard care in thoracic surgery.

Ultrasound-guided erector spinae plane catheter versus video-assisted paravertebral catheter placement in minimally invasive thoracic surgery: comparing continuous infusion analgesic techniques on early quality of recovery, respiratory function and chronic persistent surgical pain: study protocol for a double-blinded randomised controlled trial

BackgroundCompared to conventional thoracotomy, minimally invasive thoracic surgery (MITS) can reduce postoperative pain, reduce tissue trauma and contribute to better recovery. However, it still causes significant acute postoperative pain. Truncal regional anaesthesia techniques such as paravertebral and erector spinae blocks have shown to contribute to postoperative analgesia after MITS. Satisfactory placement of an ultrasound-guided thoracic paravertebral catheter can be technically challenging compared to an ultrasound-guided erector spinae catheter. However, in MITS, an opportunity arises for directly visualised placement of a paravertebral catheter by the surgeon under thoracoscopic guidance. Alongside with thoracic epidural, a paravertebral block is considered the “gold standard” of thoracic regional analgesic techniques. To the best of our knowledge, there are no randomised controlled trials comparing surgeon-administered paravertebral catheter and anaesthesiologist-assisted erector spinae catheter for MITS in terms of patient-centred outcomes such as quality of recovery.MethodsThis trial will be a prospective, double-blinded randomised controlled trial. A total of 80 eligible patients will be randomly assigned to receive either an anaesthesiologist-assisted ultrasound-guided erector spinae catheter or a surgeon-assisted video-assisted paravertebral catheter, in a 1:1 ratio following induction of general anaesthesia for minimally assisted thoracic surgery. Both groups will receive the same standardised analgesia protocol for both intra- and postoperative periods. The primary outcome is defined as Quality of Recovery (QoR-15) score between the two groups at 24 h postoperative. Secondary outcomes include assessment of chronic persistent surgical pain (CPSP) at 3 months postoperative using the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) Short Form and Short Form McGill (SF-15) questionnaires, assessment of postoperative pulmonary function, area under the curve for Verbal Rating Score for pain at rest and on deep inspiration versus time over 48 h, total opioid consumption over 48 h, QoR-15 at 48 h, and postoperative complications and morbidity as measured by the Comprehensive Complication Index.DiscussionDespite surgical advancements in thoracic surgery, severe acute postoperative pain following MITS is still prevailing. This study will provide recommendations about the efficacy of an anaesthesia-administered ultrasound-guided erector spinae catheter or surgeon-administered, video-assisted paravertebral catheter techniques for early quality of recovery following MITS.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.govNCT04729712. Registered on 28 January 2021. All items from the World Health Organization Trial Registration Data Set have been included.

P-211 Confocal Laser Microscopy without fluorescent dye in minimal-invasive thoracic surgery: an ex-vivo pilot study in lung cancer

P-211 Confocal Laser Microscopy without fluorescent dye in minimal-invasive thoracic surgery: an ex-vivo pilot study in lung cancer

Role of Minimal Invasive Thoracic Surgery in Thai Lung Cancer Patients

Objective: To assess the outcome of minimal invasive surgery in terms of intra and post-operative complication, length of tube duration, hospital stay, and cost-effective in lung resection of Thai urban population that underwent video assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) and open thoracotomy (OT). Materials and Methods: The present study was a retrospective cohort between 2006 and 2019. One hundred seventy-eight patients underwent pulmonary resection. All patients were diagnosed either primary or secondary lung cancer. All medical records were collected at Vajira Hospital. All various factors were analyzed to evaluate an outcome between both groups. Results: One hundred nineteen patients were performed by VATS, whereas 59 patients were performed by OT. Tube duration and length of hospital stay were shorter in VATS groups with five days versus seven days (p=0.001) and six days versus eleven days (p=0.001). The operative time was longer and more blood loss in OT groups compare to VATS groups with 180 minutes versus 70 minutes (p=0.001) and 100 mL versus 20 mL (p=0.001). In post-operative outcome, there was no difference in terms of arrhythmia, pneumonia, and 30 days mortality. However, there were slightly higher cost during hospital stay in VATS compared to OT at 3,329.9 USD versus 2,685.7 USD (p=0.001). Conclusion: VATS is associated with shorter length of tube duration, hospital stay, and less blood loss with no difference of post-operative outcome in lung cancer patients. Keywords: Video assisted thoracoscopic surgery; cancer; open thoracotomy

Confocal laser microscopy without fluorescent dye in minimal-invasive thoracic surgery: an ex-vivo pilot study in lung cancer.

Cancer will be the leading cause of death in a few decades. In line with minimal invasive lung cancer surgery, surgeons loose most of their tactile tissue information and need an additional tool of intraoperative tissue navigation during surgery. Confocal laser microscopy is a well-established method of tissue investigation. In this ex-vivo pilot study, we evaluated an endoscopic confocal laser microscope (eCLM) that does not need any fluorescent dye as a diagnostic tool in non-malignant and malignant pulmonary tissue and distal stapler resection margins, respectively. In seven cases, an eCLM was used for examining pulmonary tissue ex-vivo. Images of non-malignant and non-small cell lung cancer tissue and distal stapler resection margins were characterized in terms of specific signal-patterns. No fluorescent dye was used. Correlations to findings in conventional histology were systematically recorded and described. Healthy lung tissue showed hyperreflectoric alveolar walls with dark alveolar spaces. Hyperreflective nets indicated the tumor stroma; whereas the hyperreflective areas indicated the tumor cell clusters. Compared to adenocarcinoma tissue, tissue from squamous cell carcinoma showed more distinctive hyperreflective stroma nets. eCLM characteristics seen in non-malignant and malignant tissue were also visible in distal stapler resection margins and so therefore it was feasible to distinguish between healthy lung tissue and lung cancer. This pilot study shows that the assessment of pulmonary tissue with this eCLM for minimally invasive surgical approach without any fluorescent dye is feasible. It enables to differentiate between benign and malignant tissue in pulmonary specimen by easy to evaluate and reproducible parameters.

Liposomal Bupivacaine Versus Bupivacaine Hydrochloride for Intercostal Nerve Blockade in Minimally Invasive Thoracic Surgery

The objective of this study was to compare the effects of liposomal bupivacaine (Lipo-B) and bupivacaine hydrochloride (B-HCl), in the presence of multimodal analgesia, on postoperative analgesia and opioid consumption in minimally invasive thoracic surgery (MITS) lobectomy. Retrospective observational cohort study. Tertiary care cancer center. A total of 60 patients who underwent MITS lobectomy and received intercostal nerve blockade (ICNB) with either 0.66% Lipo-B (n = 29) or 0.5% B-HCl (n = 31). All patients received intravenous patient-controlled analgesia for the first 12 hours postoperatively, followed by opioids and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs as needed. Perioperative opioid and nonopioid consumption and pain scores were compared between groups at 12-hour intervals for the first 72 hours. Between the two groups, there were no statistically significant differences in demographic characteristics, intraoperative (p = 0.46) and postoperative opioid consumption, Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale scores and pain scores upon postanesthesia care unit arrival and after four hours, length of postanesthesia care unit stay (p = 0.84), or length of hospital stay (p = 0.55). Both groups received intra- and postoperative multimodal analgesia. In this cohort, no differences in opioid consumption or pain scores were observed in the immediate postoperative period following MITS lobectomy between patients given ICNB with Lipo-B and those given ICNB with B-HCl in the presence of multimodal analgesia.

A novel technique for identification of the segments based on pulmonary artery plane combined with oxygen diffusing discrepancy.

Segmentectomy has been widely accepted as a powerful tool to treat small lung nodules. Despite been commonly used, identify the intersegment plane precisely in visual during the operation still being a complex issue. We described a novel method in minimal invasive thoracic surgery utilizing arterial-navigation combined with oxygen diffusing discrepancy based on the variance of oxygen diffusion in target and reserved segments. We perspectively analyzed 24 cases with small lung nodules of T1N0M0 disease to examine the efficacy of the new method. From June 2018 to September 2018, 24 patients with small primary lung cancers underwent segmentectomy at The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University. All the patients received minimally invasive procedures and standard anatomical segmentectomy. Ligation of the target segment artery followed by observation and the arterial-navigation line gradually appeared by color discrepancy in the visceral pleural surface. The plane was then testified by inflation-deflation method. The mean identification time of the intersegments plane was 8 minutes. The residual segments collapsed and stayed pink, meanwhile the target parts remained inflated and turned dark. It allowed a clear identification of the intersegments plane on the surface. All operations were successfully completed. There were no perioperative deaths or major complications. The coincidence rate of arterial-navigation and inflation-deflation technique was 22/24. The arterial-navigation method is safe and feasible to identify the intersegmental plane in small lung tumor resection.

Uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopy surgery in lung cancer: largest experience.

Background Uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery is one of the latest development in minimal invasive thoracic surgery. It is being increasing applied in various parts of the world for the treatment of lung cancer. Although the technique has become popular, there is a lack of largescale literature addressing the safety and oncological outcomes. We aimed to describe our experience, highlighting the short-term outcomes and oncological efficacy. Methods From July 2013 to December 2017, 441 uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic procedures were carried out in patients with primary lung cancer and no metastatic disease. The male-to-female ratio was 240:201. The median age of the patients was 63 years (range10 to 85 years). Results The median number of mediastinal lymph node stations dissected and median number of mediastinal nodes were 5 and 14, respectively. Ten or more nodes were dissected in 93.1% of patients. All surgeries were complete R0 resection. Minor postoperative morbidity according to the Clavien-Dindo classification was 4%. Seven patients experienced major morbidity requiring intensive care management. There was no 30-day mortality. Conclusion Uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic anatomical resection for lung cancer appears to have similar postoperative outcomes to multiport surgery in terms of short-term morbidity and oncological efficacy. Uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery can be offered as a standard of care for lung cancer surgery in centers with adequate surgical expertise. Long-term follow-up will be needed to establish the long-term oncological outcomes.

Invited author response to editorials on liposomal bupivacaine in minimally-invasive thoracic surgery: the judge is in favor but the jury is still out.

We appreciate the insightful editorials by Martin and Mehran (1) and Caso and Marshall (2) regarding our recent manuscript (3), which described a decreased length of stay (LOS) in patients receiving intercostal nerve blocks with liposomal bupivacaine (LB) (Exparel ® ) compared to standard bupivacaine after video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) or minimally-invasive esophagectomy (MIE). Both articles raise a number of interesting points, and we would like to clarify some details of our study and expand on their discussion.

Management of intraoperative bleeding during minimally-invasive thoracic surgery

Video-assisted thoracic surgery has become the leading surgical approach for thoracic surgery in Asia, as it has previously been the case for many Western countries. Unexpected bleeding during minimally-invasive thoracic surgery may quickly turn into a fatal situation unless a recovery is successfully achieved. The best solution is primarily to avoid critical circumstances by means of preoperative simulation and intraoperative navigation with the implementation of new technologies, i.e., 3D imaging and virtual reality. However, surgeons still need to be prepared for a potential crisis.