Learning curve of robotic portal lobectomy for pulmonary neoplasms: A prospective observational study.

Background: We aim to assess the learning curve of robotic portal lobectomy with four arms (RPL-4) in patients with pulmonary neoplasms using prospectively collected data.

Methods: Data from 100 consecutive cases with lung neoplasms undergoing RPL-4 were prospectively accumulated into a database between June 2018 and August 2019. The Da Vinci Si system was used to perform RPL-4. Regression curves of cumulative sum analysis (CUSUM) and risk-adjusted CUSUM (RA-CUSUM) were fit to identify different phases of the learning curve. Clinical indicators and patient characteristics were compared between different phases.

Results: The mean operative time, console time, and docking time for the entire cohort were 130.6 ± 53.8, 95.5 ± 52.3, and 6.4 ± 3.0 min, respectively. Based on CUSUM analysis of console time, the surgical experience can be divided into three different phases: 1-10 cases (learning phase), 11-51 cases (plateau phase), and >51 cases (mastery phase). RA-CUSUM analysis revealed that experience based on 56 cases was required to truly master this technique. Total operative time (p < 0.001), console time (p < 0.001), and docking time (p = 0.026) were reduced as experience increased. However, other indicators were not significantly different among these three phases.

Conclusions: The RPL-4 learning curve can be divided into three phases. Ten cases were required to pass the learning curve, but the mastery of RPL-4 for satisfactory surgical outcomes requires experience with at least 56 cases.