Early Results and Technique of Single-Port (SP) Robotic Thoracic Surgery for Pulmonary Resection and Thymectomy.

BACKGROUND: The new SP (Single-Port) robotic system is increasingly used for thoracic surgery. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of consecutive patients who underwent extra-thoracic, single-incision surgery, using the SP robotic system between December 2024 and January 2026. RESULTS: From September 2024 to January 2026, 82 patients (44 women) underwent SP robotic thoracic surgery. The median height was 165.1cm (5'5"), median BMI was 26.6. Types of operations were: thymectomy (n=28), lobectomy (n=32), segmentectomy (n=17), and pulmonary wedge resection (n=5). Median operative time for thymectomy was 101 minutes and 137 minutes for lung resection. Median chest tube duration for thymectomy was 0 h and was 7.3 h in the 54 patients who underwent pulmonary resection. Median actual blood loss of 20cc (range 15 - 40). Median hospital length of stay was 1 day for all. Median lymph node count was 29 in the right chest and 23 in the left (median of 5 N2 and 3 N1 stations). All had R0 resections. The new SP robotic stapler, used in the last 38 patients, had no malfunctions. No patient experienced major complications (Clavien-Dindo grade > IIIa). There was no 30- or 90-day mortality and the readmission rate within 60 days was 1%. CONCLUSIONS: This initial experience, the largest report outside of South Korea, shows that robotic thoracic surgery using the da Vinci single-port robotic surgical system, with the new SP robotic stapler is feasible and safe for thymectomy and complex anatomic lung resections, including lobectomy and segmentectomy.