PORTaL Study Shows Benefits for Robotic Lung Surgery
A new large-scale PORTaL study published in Annals of Surgery compares robotic-assisted, open, and VATS lobectomies, showing fewer complications and shorter hospital stays for robotic procedures.
The Pulmonary Open, Robotic and Thoracoscopic Lobectomy (PORTaL) study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Annals of Surgery, provides real-world evidence comparing surgical approaches for lung lobectomies. The study analyzed data from over 7,200 patients across 21 academic institutions, involving more than 50 surgeons.
Results indicate that robotic-assisted lobectomies were associated with fewer post-operative complications and shorter hospital stays compared to open lobectomies. The study focused on comparable patients undergoing minimally invasive procedures, including both robotic and video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS).
Furthermore, the study found that robotic-assisted lobectomies had shorter operating times compared to both open and VATS procedures when no concomitant operations were performed. This marks the first reported instance of this finding in over two decades of research, and the large, real-world sample size suggests the result is likely to be sustained.
Intuitive, a provider of robotic surgical systems, stated that the study aligns with its commitment to generating high-quality, objective research. The company noted that over 30,000 peer-reviewed studies support benefits related to its technologies, driven by collaborative research initiatives.