Bronchoplastic lobectomy: do early results depend on the underlying pathology? A comparison between typical...

This study evaluates the impact of the underlying disease upon the surgical outcome of bronchoplastic lobectomy, comparing typical carcinoid tumours with primary lung carcinoma.

This retrospective study includes 98 consecutive patients (78 males, 20 females). Eighteen patients had a typical carcinoid tumour (group 1), and 80 had a primary bronchial carcinoma (group2). Fifty-six patients underwent bronchoplasty with full sleeve resection (10 patients from group 1, 46 from group 2) and 42 patients had a bronchoplasty with bronchial wedge resection (8 from group 1 and 34 from group 2). Right upper lobectomy was the most common procedure. We compared demographic data, surgical indications, the type of bronchoplasty and postoperative complications.

The average age in group 1 (38.5+/-16.3 years; range 15-77) was significantly lower than in group 2 (61.4+/-9.5 years; range 14-75) (p<0.001). There were no postoperative deaths. Procedure-specific complications (anastomotic dehiscence and atelectasis) were found in 7 patients (8.75%) in group 2 (of which, three had a combination of two of the above-mentioned complications) but none (0%) in group 1 (p=0.23). Seven patients from group 2 (8.75%) required treatment for a residual pneumothorax for none (0%) in group 1 (p=0.23). The mean duration for air leak was comparable in both groups (p=0.366). Three patients (16.67%) from group 1 had non-surgical complications compared to 17 (21.25%) in group 2 (of which, one had a combination of two non-surgical complications) (p=0.35).

Bronchoplastic resection is a safe operation in patients with carcinoid tumours and should be the reference for treatment.