Robotic-assisted enucleation of a large lower esophageal leiomyoma and review of literature

Circumferential esophageal leiomyoma: Management by combined robotic surgery and intraoperative endoscopy

Leiomyoma is the most common benign tumor of the esophagus. Open thoracotomy, the traditional approach adopted for the enucleation of the esophageal leiomyoma, over the years, has been gradually replaced by video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery. However, this minimally invasive approach has limitations, such as two-dimensional vision and reduced range of motion, which have recently been overcome by technical advantages of robot-assisted surgery. In the surgical management of circumferential esophageal leiomyoma, a combined use of robotic surgery and intraoperative endoscopy may be helpful to facilitate tumor enucleation and to prevent esophageal mucosal injury during the surgical procedure.

Robotic-assisted surgery for esophageal submucosal tumors: a single-center case series

Esophageal submucosal tumors (SMTs) are rare heterogenous clinical entities. The surgical resection can be performed in different surgical approaches. However, the robotic surgical strategy is poorly documented in the treatment of SMTs. We present our series of operated esophageal SMTs approached via robotic-assisted surgery. Six patients with symptomatic esophageal submucosal tumors underwent robotic surgery within a 3-year period. The performed procedures were robotic-assisted enucleation, robotic esophagectomy (RAMIE) and reverse hybrid robotic esophagectomy. Patients’ clinical data, intra/postoperative outcomes, and histopathological features were retrieved from the institution’s prospective database. Five of six patients were scheduled for upfront surgery: four underwent robotic enucleation (three leiomyoma and one suspected GIST) and one underwent reverse hybrid robotic esophagectomy (suspected GIST). One patient, diagnosed with GIST, was treated with neoadjuvant Imatinib therapy, before undergoing a RAMIE. No major intra-operative complications were recorded. Median length of stay was 7 days (6–50), with a longer post-operative course in patients who underwent esophagectomy. Clavien–Dindo > 3a complications occurred in two patients, aspiration pneumonia and delayed gastric emptying. The final histopathological and immuno-histochemical diagnosis were leiomyoma, well-differentiated GIST, low-grade fibromyxoid sarcoma and Schwannoma. Robotic-assisted surgery seems to be a promising option for surgical treatment strategies of benign or borderline esophageal submucosal tumors.

Robotic enucleation of oesophageal leiomyoma technique and surgical outcomes

Introduction:

Complete enucleation of oesophageal leiomyoma is the treatment of choice, traditionally performed by open surgery. Minimally invasive thoracoscopic approaches have been proposed as an alternative to thoracotomy. Robotic surgical systems with improved dexterity, tremor filtration and stereoscopic vision are advancement over conventional thoracoscopy and may make the preservation of mucosal integrity relatively easier. We present herein our technique of robotic-assisted thoracoscopic (RATS) enucleation of oesophageal leiomyoma along with surgical outcomes and intermediate follow-up of 11 cases.

Materials and Methods:

The present study retrospectively reviews patients undergoing robotic portal oesophageal leiomyomectomy from March 2012 to October 2019. The collected data were analysed for demographic details, clinical presentation, size, shape, tumour location, operating time, post-operative complications, length of hospital stay and recurrence on follow-up.

Results:

Twelve patients underwent robotic portal oesophageal leiomyomectomy with a clinical diagnosis of oesophageal leiomyoma. Of these, 11 patients were included in the study. The average operative time was 110 min, with a mean blood loss of 26 ml. There was no conversion in this series. At a median follow-up of 44 months (range 6–78 months), all patients were symptom-free with no recurrence or diverticula.

Conclusion:

Our series demonstrates the safety and feasibility of RATS oesophageal enucleation with good short and intermediate outcomes. In our opinion, the robotic system's technical advantages are particularly beneficial for oesophageal leiomyoma enucleation.

Robot-assisted enucleation of a giant submucosal tumor in the upper esophagus

Few reports have demonstrated robotic surgery for large tumors in the upper esophagus. We report a case of a 52-year-old woman with a giant submucosal tumor in the upper esophagus successfully enucleated using robotic surgery. She presented with odynophagia and dysphagia, with subsequent evaluation revealing a submucosal mass measuring approximately 10 cm in diameter in the upper esophagus. The mass was compressing the trachea and enlarged over 3 years. Endoscopic ultrasound fine needle aspiration of the tumor was non-diagnostic. Robot-assisted esophageal submucosal tumor enucleation was performed for diagnosis and treatment. Flexible forceps control allowed for a multi-directional approach to dissect the tumor and stable forceps handling was critical in this delicate procedure. Subsequent pathological review revealed a well-differentiated esophageal liposarcoma. While surgical margins were not entirely negative, the local recurrence rate of the tumor is low. At the patient's request, we decided to observe the patient without additional resection.

Robot-assisted thoracoscopic enucleation for a large esophageal leiomyoma: a case report

Background

Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) is being used to treat esophageal submucosal tumors (SMTs) all over the world. However, this technique is difficult when the tumor is large and located on the left side wall of the esophagus, within the upper mediastinum. This is because, with VATS, the surgical forceps have a limited range of motion. Robot-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (RATS) using the da Vinci surgical system may be extremely useful for enucleation of esophageal SMTs within the narrow upper mediastinum.

Case presentation

A female in her thirties experiencing epigastric pain visited our hospital and was diagnosed with a large esophageal leiomyoma within the upper mediastinum. From its size (10 cm), it was judged to have malignant potential. We performed SMT enucleation using RATS with a da Vinci surgical system Xi. This was our second case using this system. The patient was placed in the left lateral position. Four da Vinci trocars (8 mm) were inserted into the 10th, 7th, 5th and 3rd intercostal spaces (ICS), and an assist port was added in the 5th ICS. We opened the superior mediastinal pleura cranially and caudally from the arch of the azygos vein and expanded the superior mediastinum after dividing the azygos vein. We made an incision in the muscular layer of the esophagus and, using a monopolar hook and monopolar scissors, enucleated the esophageal tumor in a protective manner so as not to damage its capsule or mucosa while applying appropriate robot-specific counter traction. We then sewed up the muscularis using 4–0 Vicryl, inserting the endoscope into the thoracic esophagus to substitute for a bougie. In addition, the pleura was sutured using barbed suture. The surgical procedure was straightforward and smooth. The patient was discharged on postoperative day 4 with no surgical complications. The tumor was definitively diagnosed pathologically from paraffin sections as a benign esophageal leiomyoma.

Conclusions

RATS enables more delicate and precise esophageal SMT enucleation without surgical complications, though various challenges remain to be overcome.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40792-021-01212-9.

[Leiomyoma of the esophagus : A further indication for robotic surgery?]

BACKGROUND

Leiomyomas of the esophagus are rare tumors but the most common benign lesion of the esophagus originating from smooth muscle cells. The symptoms are mainly determined by the size of the tumor and are caused by dysphagia and/or retrosternal pain. The majority of patients are however asymptomatic. The diagnostics include esophagoscopy, endosonography and chest computed tomography. Surgery is considered the treatment of choice and ideally involves enucleation of the tumor but may lead to esophagectomy. In addition to the classical open procedures, minimally invasive procedures are also used. Regardless of the selected procedure, a lesion of the mucosa should be avoided.

OBJECTIVE

A review of the literature on thoracoscopic and robotic resections in the treatment of leiomyomas was carried out and an illustration of a clinical case is presented.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A review of minimally invasive surgical treatment of esophageal leiomyomas is presented. The literature search was carried out in PubMed for publications of thoracoscopic and robotic-assisted thoracic enucleation of leiomyomas of the esophagus. In addition, the robotic-assisted thoracic enucleation of a horseshoe-shaped leiomyoma in the middle third of the esophagus is described.

RESULTS

The enucleation of the esophageal leiomyoma was carried out through a right-sided robotic-assisted operation with one lung ventilation. The surgery time was 143 min. There were no intraoperative or postoperative complications. On the 3rd postoperative day a light diet was started and the thorax drainage was removed. Histopathology confirmed a leiomyoma. The patient was discharged on the 5th postoperative day and free of complaints.

CONCLUSION

Robotic-assisted surgery for leiomyomas of the esophagus is a safe procedure. Taking the available data into account, robotic-assisted thoracic enucleation of leiomyomas was characterized by less mucosal lesions, general complications and a lower conversion rate as well as a shorter hospital stay compared to classical thoracoscopic enucleation. Thus, robotic-assisted surgery can be the method of choice for leiomyomas of the esophagus.

The robotic approach for enucleation of a giant esophageal lipoma

An 87-year-old man, who had been experiencing progressive dysphagia and slight chest discomfort for 12 months, presented for an esophagram with a diagnosis of achalasia. A giant esophageal lipoma (14.5- × 4.5- × 3.5-cm) that caused symptomatic dysphagia and a dilated esophagus was revealed by computed tomography and endoscopic esophageal ultrasound. For such a huge esophageal lipoma in a geriatric patient, we successfully enucleated the mediastinal lesion via a minimally invasive approach using the da Vinci S Surgical System.

Esophageal surgery in minimally invasive era

The widespread popularity of new surgical technologies such as laparoscopy, thoracoscopy and robotics has led many surgeons to treat esophageal diseases with these methods. The expected benefits of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) mainly include reductions of postoperative complications, length of hospital stay, and pain and better cosmetic results. All of these benefits could potentially be of great interest when dealing with the esophagus due to the potentially severe complications that can occur after conventional surgery. Moreover, robotic platforms are expected to reduce many of the difficulties encountered during advanced laparoscopic and thoracoscopic procedures such as anastomotic reconstructions, accurate lymphadenectomies, and vascular sutures. Almost all esophageal diseases are approachable in a minimally invasive way, including diverticula, gastro-esophageal reflux disease, achalasia, perforations and cancer. Nevertheless, while the limits of MIS for benign esophageal diseases are mainly technical issues and costs, oncologic outcomes remain the cornerstone of any procedure to cure malignancies, for which the long-term results are critical. Furthermore, many of the minimally invasive esophageal operations should be compared to pharmacologic interventions and advanced pure endoscopic procedures; such a comparison requires a difficult literature analysis and leads to some confounding results of clinical trials. This review aims to examine the evidence for the use of MIS in both malignancies and more common benign disease of the esophagus, with a particular emphasis on future developments and ongoing areas of research.

Thoracoscopic and Laparoscopic Enucleation of Esophageal Leiomyomas

Although infrequent, esophageal leiomyomas are the most common benign intramural tumors of the esophagus. As malignant potential is not a concern in these lesions, they represent ideal candidates for an organ-preserving approach. Due to their well-circumscribed growth, a minimally invasive approach should be pursued in almost all patients. We present our recent techniques and results associated with totally minimally invasive thoracoscopic and laparoscopic approaches to resection of esophageal leiomyomas. These approaches require technical expertise but can be accomplished with a short learning curve.

Robot assisted thoracoscopic resection of giant esophageal leiomyoma

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Esophageal leiomyoma is most common benign esophageal tumor.

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Robot assisted surgery allows for resection of giant esophageal leiomyoma using minimally invasive approach.

INTRODUCTION

Esophageal leiomyoma represents the most common benign esophageal tumor. Robot-assisted thoracoscopic surgery has provided ability to remove it successfully using a minimally invasive approach.

PRESENTATION OF CASE

A 63-year old female with history of chronic chest pain presented with an esophageal mass on chest CT and endoscopic ultrasound. Robot-assisted surgery was performed using three robot arms, a camera and an assistant port. A 10 cm leiomyoma was enucleated and removed through a 2 cm myotomy. Completion endoscopy confirmed integrity of the esophagus. Patient's chest pain resolved postoperatively, and she was discharged on postoperative day 3.

DISCUSSION

Our case describes successful removal of the giant esophageal leiomyoma (10 cm) by robot assisted minimally invasive resection through a 2 cm myotomy.

CONCLUSION

Use of robot allows for removal of large esophageal leiomyoma. The improved dexterity and patient outcome offered by robot suggests its potential as the mainstay technique for giant esophageal leiomyoma removal.