Second surgical intervention for recurrent and second primary bronchogenic carcinomas

Second operations were performed in 1961-1990 on 23 patients with non-small cell bronchogenic carcinoma, constituting 2.5% of 906 who had undergone pulmonary resection for such tumor and 3.6% of the 641 with apparently curative surgery. The second operation was performed for recurrent tumor in 15 cases and for second primary tumor in eight. Five-year survival after the first operation was 30% in the former group and 88% in the latter (significant difference). Among the total 23 patients, this survival rate was 51%. The study indicates that an aggressive attitude to second surgical intervention is warranted. For early detection of second lesions, follow-up at maximally 6-month intervals should be continued for more than 5 years after the first operation.