Transitioning from video-assisted thoracic surgical lobectomy to robotics for lung cancer: are there outcomes advantages?

Objectives: To determine if there are advantages to transitioning to robotics by a surgeon who is already proficient in performing video-assisted thoracic surgical (VATS) lobectomy.

Methods: A single surgeon proficient in VATS lobectomy initiated a robotic lobectomy program, and a retrospective review was conducted of his patients undergoing minimally invasive lobectomy (robotics or VATS) for lung cancer between 2011 and 2012. Data collected included patient/tumor characteristics, morbidity, mortality, operative times, and length of hospital stay.

Utility of endobronchial ultrasound-guided mediastinal lymph node biopsy in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

Objective: Invasive mediastinal biopsy is often necessary in the evaluation of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and mediastinoscopy has long been considered the reference standard. However, the emergence of endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) has resulted in controversy regarding it represents a suitable replacement for mediastinoscopy. We chose to determine the utility of EBUS-TBNA in evaluating the mediastinum in patients with NSCLC.