ObjectiveTo compare the short-term outcomes of Da Vinci robot-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy (RAMIE) and video-assisted thoracoscopic-laparoscopic minimally invasive esophagectomy (VAMIE) for esophageal cancer. MethodsA retrospective analysis was conducted on the data of patients with esophageal cancer admitted to Gansu Provincial People's Hospital from January 2021 to February 2025. Based on the surgical method, patients were divided into a RAMIE group and a VAMIE group. Both groups underwent standard McKeown three-incision surgery and systematic three-field lymph node dissection. Intraoperative blood loss, number of lymph nodes dissected, postoperative recovery indicators, and complication rates were compared. ResultsA total of 126 patients with esophageal cancer were included, of which 109 were male and 17 were female, with an average age of (64.6±8.8) years. The RAMIE group consisted of 36 patients and the VAMIE group 90 patients. There was no statistical difference in baseline indicators such as age, sex, and body mass index between the two groups (P>0.05). The difference in operation time between the two groups was not statistically significant [305.0 (280.0, 348.0) min vs. 300.0 (268.8, 340.0) min, P=0.457]. Compared with the VAMIE group, the RAMIE group had less intraoperative blood loss [100.0 (100.0, 120.0) mL vs. 100.0 (100.0, 200.0) mL, P=0.035], more intraoperative fluid infusion [(2244.7±610.3) mL vs. (1954.4±457.9) mL, P=0.013], a higher number of lymph nodes dissected [(27.9±10.6) nodes vs. (21.3±5.1) nodes, P<0.001], and the difference in the number of lymph node dissection groups was not statistically significant [8.0 (6.0, 8.0) groups vs. 7.0 (5.0, 8.0) groups, P=0.268]. In terms of postoperative recovery indicators, compared with the VAMIE group, the RAMIE group had shorter postoperative hospital stay [12.5 (9.0, 18.0) d vs. 17.0 (14.0, 22.0) d, P＜0.001] and shorter time with tubes [9.0 (8.0, 10.0) d vs. 10.0 (9.0, 12.0) d, P=0.007]. In terms of postoperative complications, the incidence of recurrent laryngeal nerve injury in the RAMIE group was significantly lower than that in the VAMIE group (2.8% vs. 16.7%, P=0.039), there was no statistical difference in pulmonary infection, anastomosis leakage, and incision infection between the two groups (P>0.05). The total hospitalization cost of the RAMIE group was significantly higher than that of the VAMIE group (P<0.001). ConclusionRAMIE has significant advantages over VAMIE in terms of intraoperative bleeding control, the number of lymph node dissections, postoperative recovery speed, and reducing the risk of incision infection and recurrent laryngeal nerve injury, with good safety and feasibility.
ObjectiveTo compare the clinical efficacy of cone-shaped gastric tube combined with cervical end-to-end stratified manual anastomosis and conventional tubular stomach combined with neck end-to-end mechanical side-to-side anastomosis in thoracoscopic and laparoscopic esophagectomy for esophageal cancer. MethodsThe clinical data of consecutive patients treated by thoracoscopic and laparoscopic esophagectomy for esophageal cancer in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery of the First People's Hospital of Neijiang from January 1, 2018 to March 25, 2021 were analyzed. The patients were divided into a cone-shaped gastric tube manual group (treated with cone-shaped gastric tube combined with cervical end-to-end stratified manual anastomosis) and a conventional tubular stomach mechanical group (treated with conventional tubular stomach+end-to-end mechanical side-to-side anastomosis). The anastomotic time, intraoperative blood loss, number of lymph node dissection, anastomotic fistula, anastomotic stenosis, anastomotic cost, sternogastric dilatation, gastroesophageal reflux symptoms, and postoperative complications were compared and analyzed between the two groups. ResultsA total of 161 patients were enrolled, including 112 males and 49 females aged 40-82 years. There were 80 patients in the cone-shaped gastric tube manual group, and 81 patients in the conventional tubular stomach mechanical group. There was no statistical difference in the intraoperative blood loss, number of lymph nodes dissected, hoarseness, pulmonary infection, arrhythmia, respiratory failure or chylothorax between the two groups (P>0.05). The anastomosis time of the cone-shaped gastric tube manual group was longer than that of the conventional tubular stomach mechanical group (28.35±3.20 min vs. 14.30±1.26 min, P<0.001), but the anastomotic cost and incidence of thoracogastric dilatation in the cone-shaped gastric tube manual group were significantly lower than those of the conventional tubular stomach mechanical group [948.48±70.55 yuan vs. 4 978.76±650.29 yuan, P<0.001; 3 (3.8%) vs. 14 (17.3%), P=0.005]. The incidences of anastomotic fistula and anastomotic stenosis in the cone-shaped gastric tube manual group were lower than those in the conventional tubular gastric mechanical group, but the differences were not statistically significant (P>0.05). The gastroesophageal reflux scores in the cone-shaped gastric tube manual group were lower than those in the conventional tubular gastric mechanical group at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 1 year after the operation (P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that digestive tract reconstruction method was the influencing factor for postoperative thoracogastric dilation, which was reduced in the cone-shaped gastric tube manual group. ConclusionCone-shaped gastric tube combined with cervical end-to-end stratified manual anastomosis can significantly reduce the incidence of thoracogastric dilatation after thoracoscopic and laparoscopic esophagectomy for esophageal cancer and save hospitalization costs, with mild gastroesophageal reflux symptoms, and it still has certain advantages in reducing postoperative anastomotic fistula and anastomotic stenosis, which is worthy of clinical promotion.