Uniportal Robotic Right Lower Lobectomy

This video shows a uniportal robotic right lower lobectomy. The surgeons used uniportal robotic surgery, which represents a fusion of the advantages of uniportal VATS and robotic surgery, including wristed instrumentation and 3D vision.

In this case, the patient presented with a 6 cm right lower lobe tumor with adhesions. The uniportal incision was performed in the seventh space and the posterior part of the incision was at the vertex of the chest. The camera was then placed at the posterior part of the incision at 30 degrees down, and a bipolar was placed in the left hand and a Maryland in the right hand. For a right-sided lobectomy, arm one was inactivated, a camera was placed in arm two, and arm three was assigned to the left hand and arm four to the right hand on the manual console settings.

Because the arms do not clash, surgeons have a good view of the anatomy. This technique is quick and easy to perform, and it is faster than multiportal robotic surgery. It also allows more precise dissection compared to uniportal VATS surgery. The Intuitive stapling devices can also be used in the surgery without any issue. Leave your thoughts on this approach in the comments section below.

To see an interview Dr. Diego Gonzalez Rivas about uniportal robotic thoracic surgery, watch "The New Era of Uniportal Robotic Surgery." For a demonstration of the setup for this technique, check out "Uniportal Robotic Surgery: A Step-by-Step Guide to Setup."

Disclaimer

This is an off-label use of the Intuitive Robotic system and all surgeons using this approach do so at their own risk. The opinions and views of Joel Dunning with regard to this technique are his own and do not represent the views of Intuitive surgical who are still evaluating this technique for safety and efficacy.

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