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Abstract Background The transcervical mediastinoscopic esophagectomy is a relative new technique that has gradually demonstrated because of its ease of dissection along the organ sheath and its less invasive nature. However, the conventional cervical approach to mediastinoscopy has been reported to have a relatively high rate of recurrent nerve palsy due to interference in the mediastinum caused by the straight forceps. The robot-assisted transcervical esophagectomy (RACE) approach is novel procedure expected to reduce these interferences and improve maneuverability around the recurrent nerve. In this report, we describe a surgical technique and short-term outcome of RACE. Methods In this study, we included 26 RACE cases performed between Feb 2023 to Feb 2024. Principally, our hospital performs transcervical esophagectomy mainly on patients who are difficult to approach by transthoracic approach due to history of thoracic diseases, etc. In our department, transcervical esophagectomy is usually performed via a bilateral cervical approach, starting from the right neck and continuing to the left neck, and RACE is performed using the da Vinci Xi via a bilateral cervical approach as well. Recently, we have been shortening the operation time by performing simultaneous cervical and abdominal operations without muscle relaxation using NIM. Results Patient background: mean age 74.5, male to female ratio 22:4, cStage I/II/III/IV: 13/3/9/1, NAC: 46.1%, more than 80% had some history of pulmonary disease/systemic history. All patients underwent RACE via bilateral cervical approach, and no intraoperative complications or thoracoscopic conversion were observed. Postoperative complications (CD Grade≥1) included recurrent nerve palsy in 15.6% and respiratory complications in 7.6%. In addition, the recent operation with simultaneous cervical/abdominal NIM and no muscle relaxant has significantly shortened the average total operative time to 4 hours and 40 minutes. Conclusion Robot-assisted Cervical Esophagectomy (RACE) is a relatively safe procedure that offers a natural anatomic approach, fewer respiratory complications, and a significant reduction in operative time due to simultaneous neck and abdominal manipulation. With the advancement of robotics and devices, RACE is expected to become more effective and more widely used in the future.
Fujita et al. (Sun,) studied this question.