Short-term Outcomes of Robot-assisted Minimally Invasive Esophagectomy Compared With Thoracoscopic or Transthoracic Esophagectomy

Background/Aim: There is no study comparing open esophagectomy (OE), video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS), and robot-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy (RAMIE) in a single institution. Patients and Methods: This study included 272 patients who underwent subtotal esophagectomy divided into three groups: OE (n=110), VATS (n=127), and RAMIE (n=35) groups. Moreover, short-term outcomes were compared. Results: Overall complications (CD>II) were significantly less in the RAMIE than the OE and VATS groups. Recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis (CD>II) was significantly lower in the RAMIE than the OE group (p=0.026) and tended to be lower than that in the VATS group (p=0.059). The RAMIE group had significantly less atelectasis (CD>I and II), pleural effusion (CD>I and II), arrhythmia (CD>II), and dysphagia (CD>II), than both the OE and VATS groups. Conclusion: RAMIE reduced overall postoperative complications after esophagectomy compared with both OE and VATS.