Comparison of Early Functional Recovery Following Triportal Robot-Assisted and Uniportal Video-Assisted Segmentectomy in Patients With Early-Stage Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Propensity Score-Matched Analysis

Abstract

Background: Robot-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (RATS) is more precise and flexible than video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treatment. This study compared the early postoperative functional recovery of patients who underwent triportal RATS with that of patients who underwent uniportal video-assisted thoracic surgery (UVATS) for segmentectomy. Methods: This observational, prospective study included 172 patients with clinical stage I or II peripheral NSCLC who underwent RATS or UVATS segmentectomy. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to balance differences between groups. The functional recovery data were collected during the first 4 weeks after discharge via portable devices and questionnaires (EORTC QLQ-C30, Christensen Fatigue Scale, MD Anderson Symptom Inventory, and Leicester Cough Questionnaire). Results: After PSM, the baseline characteristics were consistent between the groups. RATS was associated with shorter operation time and lower total drainage volume compared to UVATS. However, RATS was associated with more cases of severe postoperative pain. Despite this, patients who underwent RATS recovered well, showed good short-term outcomes in fatigue and physical function, and experienced few postoperative adverse events. The differences in average daily step count and sleep duration were not significant. In terms of global health status (GHS), RATS was slightly but nonsignificantly advantageous. Conclusions: In the enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) pathway, triportal RATS has potential benefits in terms of perioperative and early postoperative functional recovery after segmentectomy. Trial Registration: Biomedical Research Ethics Committee of Shandong Province: 2022-580; Chinese Clinical Trial Registry: ChiCTR2300067977.