Robotic resection of mediastinal masses: a decade of experience

Background: Robotic-assisted surgery is gaining an increasing popularity in the past decades within the field of thoracic surgery, especially in mediastinal tumor resection. In the narrow space of the mediastinum surrounded by a complexity of anatomical structures, robotic-assisted thoracic surgery (RATS) shows its potential due to its enhanced dexterity, the three-dimensional view with great maneuverability and tremor adjustment in comparison to other minimal invasive techniques. Primary resection is the therapy of choice for most common mediastinal masses in the anterior (thymoma) and posterior (neurogenic tumors) mediastinum.