Robotic‐assisted thoracoscopic surgery improves perioperative outcomes in overweight and obese patients with non–small‐cell lung cancer undergoing lobectomy: A propensity score matching analysis

Background The effectiveness of robotic-assisted lobectomy (RAL) for patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has not been fully evaluated. Methods This retrospective study compared the perioperative outcomes of NSCLC patients who underwent RAL and video-assisted lobectomy (VAL) using propensity score matching (PSM) analysis. Subgroup analyses were then performed. Results A total of 822 NSCLC patients (359 RAL cases and 463 VAL cases) were included, and there were 292 patients in each group after PSM. Compared with the VAL group, the RAL group had a significantly higher number of lymph nodes (LNs) harvested (10 vs. 8, p < 0.001) and more LN stations examined (6 vs. 5, p < 0.001). The operative duration (95 minutes vs. 115 minutes, p < 0.001) and intraoperative estimated blood loss (65 mL vs. 80 mL, p < 0.001) were significantly reduced, and the drainage volume on postoperative day (POD) 1 (240 mL vs. 200 mL, p < 0.001) and hospitalization costs ( yen 81084.96 vs. yen 66142.55, p < 0.001) were significantly higher in the RAL group. Subgroup analysis indicated that the incidence of postoperative complications (17.9% vs. 26.7%, p = 0.042) was significantly reduced in the RAL group for overweight and obese patients (body mass index [BMI] >= 24 kg/m(2)), which became insignificant in the BMI < 24 kg/m(2) subgroup (31.0% vs. 24.8%, p = 0.307). Conclusion RAL might have potential advantages in terms of lymph node assessment, reducing intraoperative blood loss, and shortening operation duration. Overweight and obese patients could benefit more from RAL because of reduced risk of postoperative complications.