Thymectomy

For the patient undergoing a robotic assisted thymectomy, the biggest advantages accrue from the minimally invasive approach and the precision of the internal surgical work. The difference in recovery between an operation that requires four or five small incisions on the side of the chest versus an operation that requires cutting through the sternal bone is enormous. The result is that multiple studies throughout the world now suggest the robotic technique has similar effectiveness and remission rates as the transsternal approach. Even with a small sample and short follow-up, robotic extended thymectomy appears to be an effective treatment for early-stage thymomas.