Journal of robotic surgery
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Several works stress the importance of ultrasound-guided transversus abdominis plane block (TAPb) for post-operative analgesia and its versatility in all types of abdominal surgery, thanks to laparotomy and laparoscopy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of TAPb on intra- and post-operative analgesia in the first 24 h after robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP). TAPb is a new local anesthetic technique which provides analgesia after abdominal surgery. ⋯ In group B, only one patient received 100 mg Tramadol (first and second post-operative days) due to surgical complications. In conclusion, US-TAPb provided highly effective intra- and post-operative analgesia in the first 24 h after RARP. A further prospective study is necessary to assess the best protocol for all patients.
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En-bloc sacrectomy is a highly demanding surgical procedure necessary to obtain wide margin in sacral tumor. The double approach, anterior and posterior approach, is usually preferred for tumors extending proximally to S3 level where iliac internal vessels are at a higher risk for damage during posterior surgery. It can be justified also in selected cases to decrease the risk of posterior approach as in local recurrence or in patients who already underwent laparotomy. ⋯ Robot-assisted surgery can be considered a valid and minimally invasive technique which allows a safe anterior dissection of the pelvic structures dividing tumors from surrounding tissues. It allows to place a spacer to protect organs during posterior sacral resection performed on the same day or at a later time. Further experiences are advocated to evaluate its efficiency in sacral tumors of greater size.
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Abstract
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The aim of this study was to analyse the feasibility and safety of robotic-assisted thymectomy (RoT) in patients with clinically early stage thymoma, investigating clinical and early oncological results. Between 1998 and 2017, we retrospectively reviewed 76 (42.2%) patients who underwent radical thymectomy for clinically early stage thymoma (Masaoka-Koga I and II), identifying all patients who underwent RoT (n = 28) or open thymectomy (OT) with eligibility criteria for robotic surgery (n = 48). Using a propensity-score matched for tumor size (3.9 ± 1.8 cm) and stage (35% stage I, 42% stage IIA, 23% stage IIB), we paired 24 patients who had RoT with 24 patients undergoing OT. ⋯ After a median follow-up of 1.3 years, all patients in the RoT group were alive without disease. RoT is feasible and safe for early stage thymoma with clear advantage compared to OT in term of short term outcomes. A longer follow-up is needed to better evaluate the oncological results.
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Renal transplant recipient surgery is conventionally performed using open technique which is total extra-peritoneal in approach whereas robot assisted renal transplant recipient surgery is performed through a transperitoneal approach. We present a case where a total extraperitoneal robot assisted renal transplant recipient surgery was performed. ⋯ TERT is a technically demanding procedure that closely resemble open technique while imparting the benefits of minimally invasive surgery to the patient.