Clinical Efficacy of Single-Port Thoracoscopic Lobectomy versus Three-Port Thoracoscopic Lobectomy for Lung Cancer

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of single-port thoracoscopic lobectomy versus three-port thoracoscopic lobectomy for lung cancer. METHODS: From February 2020 to February 2021, 200 lung cancer patients treated in our institution assessed for eligibility were enrolled and randomly assigned (1 : 1) to either the experimental group (single-port thoracoscopic lobectomy) or the control group (three-port thoracoscopic lobectomy). The outcomes were the eligible patients' surgical indices, pain stress indexes, and postoperative complications. RESULTS: The experimental group outperformed the control group in terms of incision length, postoperative drainage time, extubation time, time to get out of bed, time to analgesics administration, and postoperative pain score (P < 0.001). Compared with the control group, the experimental group reduced the intraoperative bleeding (161.98 ± 10.65 versus 179.65 ± 14.20, P < 0.001) and length of hospital stay (7.98 ± 0.56 versus 10.46 ± 1.23, P < 0.001). The operative time of the single-port thoracoscopic lobectomy was longer than that of the three-port thoracoscopic lobectomy (P < 0.001). There was no statistical difference between the two groups in the intraoperative conversion to thoracotomy and the number of lymph node dissections (P > 0.05). Postoperative pain stress indices and complication rates of the experimental group were significantly lower than those of the control group (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Single-port thoracoscopic lobectomy can improve the perioperative indices of lung cancer patients, reduce their pain stress response, and accelerate postoperative recovery. However, its operation is difficult and time-consuming, requiring experienced surgeons for improved surgical outcomes in practice.