Early experience of robotic axillary lymph node dissection in patients with node-positive breast cancer

• Published in: Breast cancer research and treatment 2023-04, Vol.198 (3), p.405-412
• Main Authors: Ahn, Jee Hyun, Park, Jung Min, Choi, Soon Bo, Go, Jieon, Lee, Jeea, Kim, Jee Ye, Park, Hyung Seok
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Analysis; Axilla - pathology; Breast cancer; Breast Neoplasms - pathology; Breast Neoplasms - surgery; Care and treatment; Dissection; Early experience; Editorial; Female; Humans; Lymph Node Excision; Lymph nodes; Lymph Nodes - pathology; Lymph Nodes - surgery; Lymphatic system; Mastectomy; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Oncology; Robotic surgery; Robotic Surgical Procedures - adverse effects; Robotics; Robots; Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy; Statistical analysis; Surgical outcomes; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0167-6806; 1573-7217
• DOI: 10.1007/s10549-022-06760-8

Background Robotic surgical systems enable surgeons to perform precise movement in the surgical field using high-resolution 3D vision and flexible robotic instruments. We aimed to evaluate the feasibility and safety of performing axillary lymph node dissection using a robotic surgical system in patients with node-positive breast cancer. Methods Thirty-two women with breast cancer who underwent robot-assisted nipple-sparing mastectomy (RNSM) and level I/II axillary lymph node dissection were analyzed. Patients were divided into two groups: RNSM with conventional axillary lymph node dissection (CALND) vs. RNSM with robotic axillary lymph node dissection (RALND). Clinicopathological features and surgical outcomes were analyzed. Results The median age of the patients was 44 (range 20–59) years. Eleven patients underwent RALND. None of the clinicopathologic features differed between the two groups. There were no statistically significant differences in surgical outcomes, except for the final incision size, between the two groups. The proportion of cases with an incision ≤ 40 mm was 63.6% in the RALND group and 36.4% in the CALND group ( p  = 0.020). Conclusion RALND can be safely performed in RNSM. RNSM with RALND is comparable to RNSM with CALND in terms of early surgical outcomes. The incision size can be reduced when using RALND.