ArticleJournal of clinical medicine2021
Robotic vs. Transsternal Thymectomy: A Single Center Experience over 10 Years.
Article in Journal of clinical medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 17 citations in OpenAlex.
- A Shift from Standard Median Sternotomy to Robotic-Assisted Thoracic Surgery for Resection of Anterior Mediastinal Tumors.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Optimising individualised treatment decisions for locally advanced thymoma: precision selection of minimally invasive surgery and postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Review
- Adoption of the Robotic Platform across Thoracic Surgeries.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
- Robotic portal resection for mediastinal tumours: a prospective observational study.Journal of cardiothoracic surgery · 2024Observational
- Perspectives on surgical treatment for thymic epithelial tumors: a narrative review.Gland surgery · 2024Review
- TNM Staging System in Thymoma: A Critical Appraisal?Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
- Robotic resection of mediastinal masses: a decade of experience.Journal of visualized surgery · 2024Article
- The hemiclamshell approach to bulky cervico-mediastinal lesions: how to do it.Mediastinum (Hong Kong, China) · 2024Article
- Efficacy of using Maryland forceps versus electrocoagulation hooks in da Vinci robot-assisted thoracoscopic mediastinal tumor resection.World journal of surgical oncology · 2023Article
- Robotic resection of anterior mediastinal masses >10 cm: a case series.Mediastinum (Hong Kong, China) · 2023Article
- Robot-assisted thymectomy in large anterior mediastinal tumors: A comparative study with video-assisted thymectomy and open surgery.Thoracic cancer · 2023Article
- Robotic Mediastinal Tumor Resections: Position and Port Placement.Journal of personalized medicine · 2022Article
- Establishment of Thoracic Surgical Difficulty Assessment Scale based on Delphi method.Zhong nan da xue xue bao. Yi xue ban = Journal of Central South University. Medical sciences · 2022Article
- Robotic-assisted thoracoscopic resection of anterior mediastinal cystic teratoma: a case report and literature review.Journal of cardiothoracic surgery · 2022Review
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionThymomas are the most common tumors of the mediastinum. Traditionally, thymectomies have been performed through a transsternal (TS) approach. With the development of robot-assisted thoracic surgery (RATS), a promising, minimally invasive, alternative surgical technique for performing a thymectomy has been developed. In the current paper, the oncological and surgical outcomes of the TS vs. RATS thymectomies are discussed.
methodsFor the RATS thymectomy, two 8 mm working ports and one 12 mm camera port were used. In the transsternal approach, we performed a median sternotomy and resected the thymic tissue completely, in some cases en bloc with part of the lung and/or, more frequently, a partial pericardiectomy with consequent reconstruction using a bovine pericardial patch. The decisions for using the TS vs. RATS methods were mainly based on the suspected tumor invasion of the surrounding structures on the preoperative CT scan and tumor size.
resultsBetween January 2010 and November 2020, 149 patients were submitted for an anterior mediastinal tumor resection at our institution. A total of 104 patients met the inclusion criteria. One procedure was performed through a hemi-clamshell incision. A total of 81 (78%) patients underwent RATS procedures, and 22 (21.1%) patients were treated using a transsternal (TS) tumor resection. Thymoma was diagnosed in 53 (51%) cases. In the RATS group, the median LOS was 3.2 ± 2.8 days and the median tumor size was 4.4 ± 2.37 cm compared to the TS group, which had a median LOS of 9 ± 7.3 days and a median tumor size of 10.4 ± 5.3 cm. Both differences were statistically significant (
conclusionWhile larger and infiltrating tumors (i.e., thymic carcinomas) were usually resected via a sternotomy, the RATS procedure is a good alternative for the resection of thymomas of up to 9.5 cm, and the thymectomy is a strong approach for myasthenia gravis. The oncological outcomes and survival rates were not influenced by the chosen approach.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.