TABLE 4.
Robot‐assisted minimally invasive McKeown and transmediastinal esophagectomy
| Author | Reference | Study type | Compared outcome | Type of surgery | Number of patients | Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| McKeown esophagectomy | ||||||
| Zheng | 30 | Systematic review and meta‐analyses | Short‐term outcomes | RAMIE‐MK | 1435 | Lower incidence of pneumonia, lower incidence of RLNP |
| CMIE‐MK | 1452 | Shorter operation time | ||||
| Xu | 31 | Propensity score matching analysis | Short‐term outcomes | RAMIE‐MK | 292 | Higher number of harvested left RLN LNs and thoracic LNs |
| CMIE‐MK | 292 | |||||
| Yang | 32 | Propensity score matching analysis | Short‐term outcomes | RAMIE‐MK | 271 | Shorter thoracic operation time, lower thoracic conversions, higher number of harvested LNs along RLN |
| CMIE‐MK | 271 | lower incidence of RLNP | ||||
| de Groot | 33 | Randomized controlled trial | Long‐term outcomes | RAMIE‐MK | 54 | Similar: 5‐year OS, 5‐year DFS |
| OE‐MK | 55 | |||||
| Xu | 31 | Propensity score matching analysis | Long‐term outcomes | RAMIE‐MK | 292 | Similar: OS, DFS |
| CMIE‐MK | 292 | |||||
| Yang | 32 | Propensity score matching analysis | Long‐term outcomes | RAMIE‐MK | 271 | Lower rate of mediastinal LNs recurrence; similar: OS, DFS |
| CMIE‐MK | 271 | |||||
| Transmediastinal esophagectomy | ||||||
| Keeney‐Bonthrone | 34 | Short‐term outcomes | RATME | 87 | ||
| OTME | 378 | Lower rates of pulmonary complications, particularly pulmonary embolus | ||||
| Williams | 35 | Mid‐term QOL | RATME | 97 | Similar: QLQ‐OES18, QLQ‐C30, FoR up to 12 mos. | |
| OTME | 212 | |||||
Abbreviations: CMIE‐MK, completely minimally invasive McKeown esophagectomy; DFS, disease‐free survival; FoR, fear of recurrence; LN, lymph node; OE‐MK, open McKeown esophagectomy; OS, overall survival; OTME, open transmediastinal esophagectomy; RAMIE‐MK, robot‐assisted minimally invasive McKeown esophagectomy; RATME, robot‐assisted minimally invasive transmediastinal esophagectomy; RLN, recurrent laryngeal nerve; RLNP, recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy; QLQ, quality of life questionnaire; QOL, quality of life.