[Combined lung and heart surgery]

Patients with concomitant pulmonary carcinoma and serious heart disease represent a therapeutic challenge. With the introduction of combined lung-heart surgery, both conditions may be treated adequately and safely. At Rikshospitalet, combined surgery was performed in four cases during the period 1984-88. In three patients heart surgery and lung resection were performed in one anesthetic session. In the fourth case the heart disease was corrected first and the tumor removed a few weeks later. After 1-4 years follow-up none of the patients has clinical manifestations of either condition. Combined surgery is only applicable if tumor removal is confined to wedge resection or lobectomy.