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Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess the learning curve (LC) of robot-assisted lung segmentectomy and to evaluate hospital-related costs., Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of Robot-assisted thoracic surgery (RATS) segmentectomies performed by 1 surgeon during 5 years. Perioperative and medical device data were collected. The LC, based on operating time, was assessed by Cumulative SUM analysis and an exponential model. Cost of care was estimated using the French National Cost Study method., Results: One hundred and two RATS segmentectomies were included. The LC was completed at ∼30 procedures according to both models without significant difference in patients' characteristics before or after the LC. Mean operative time decreased from 136 min [95% confidence intervals (CI) 124-149] for the first 30 procedures to 97 min (95% CI 88-107) for the last 30 procedures. Mean length of stay decreased non-significantly (P = 0.10 for linear trend) from 8.1 days (95% CI 6.1-11.0) to 6.2 days (95% CI 4.9-7.9). The overall costs for the last 30 procedures as compared with the first 30 did not significantly decrease in the primary economic analysis but significantly decreased (P = 0.02) by €1271 (95% CI -2688 to +108, P = 0.02 for linear trend) after exclusion of 1 outlier (hospitalization-related costs > €10 000). After exclusion of this outlier, costs related to EndoWrist® instruments significantly decreased by €-135 (95% CI -220 to -35, P = 0.004), whereas costs related to clips decreased non-significantly (P = 0.28)., Conclusions: The LC was completed at ∼30 procedures. Inexperienced surgeons may have higher procedure costs, related to consumable medical devices and operating time., (© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Minimally invasive procedures are used for the surgical treatment of lung cancer. Two techniques are proposed: video-assisted thoracic surgery or robotic-assisted thoracic surgery. Our goal was to study the economic impact of our long-standing program for minimally invasive procedures for major lung resection., Methods: We conducted a single-centre, 1-year prospective cost study. Patients who underwent lobectomy or segmentectomy were included. Patient characteristics and perioperative outcomes were collected. Medical supply expenses based on the microcosting method and capital depreciation were estimated. Total cost was evaluated using a national French database., Results: One hundred twelve patients were included, 57 with and 55 without robotic assistance. More segmentectomies were performed with robotic assistance. The median length of stay was 5 days for robotic-assisted and 6 days for video-assisted procedures (P = 0.13). The duration of median chest drains (4 days, P = 0.36) and of operating room time (255 min, P = 0.55) was not significantly different between the groups. The overall conversion rate to thoracotomy was 9%, significantly higher in the video-assisted group than in the robotic group (16% vs 2%, P = 0.008). No difference was observed in postoperative complications. The cost of most robotic-assisted procedures ranged from €10 000 to €12 000 (median €10 972) and that of most video-assisted procedures ranged from €8 000 to €10 000 (median €9 637) (P = 0.007); median medical supply expenses were €3 236 and €2 818, respectively (P = 0.004). The overall mean cost of minimally invasive techniques (€11 759) was significantly lower than the mean French cost of lung resection surgical procedures (€13 424) (P = 0.001)., Conclusions: The cost at our centre of performing minimally invasive surgical procedures appeared lower than the cost nationwide. Robotic-assisted thoracic surgery demonstrated acceptable additional costs for a long-standing program., (© The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.)