To investigate the clinical efficacy of robot-assisted thoracoscopic resection of fibrous dysplasia (FD) of the ribs.

A retrospective analysis was conducted on patients who underwent rib tumor resection in the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Changzhou First People’s Hospital from June 2022 to June 2024. Patients were divided into the thoracoscopic surgery group and robot-assisted surgery group based on the surgical approach. There were 15 cases in the thoracoscopic surgery group and 13 cases in the robot-assisted surgery group. A Gigli saw was used for rib transection in both groups. Perioperative indicators, pain levels, and postoperative complications were evaluated between the two groups.

The intraoperative blood loss in the robot-assisted group was significantly less than that in the thoracoscopic group[ (59.62±17.73) mL vs (88.33±21.27) mL, P<0.05]. The postoperative drainage volume was also less[ (99.23±37.80) mL vs (169.91±32.46) mL, P<0.05]. The indwelling time of the chest tube after surgery was shorter[ (1.15±0.38) days vs (1.40±0.63) days, P<0.05], and the pain visual analogue scores at 12 hours after surgery was lower (5.57±0.41 vs 6.70±0.49, P<0.05). No significant differences were observed in operation time, length of hospital stay, or complication rate between the two groups (P>0.05). All patients recovered well at 1 month postoperatively.

Robot-assisted thoracoscopic resection for the treatment of rib FD is safe and effective, with advantages such as minimal trauma, less bleeding, rapid recovery, and mild pain. It is worthy of widespread adoption and application in the treatment of rib tumors.