[Surgical tactics in bilateral resections of the lungs]

The article generalizes experience in 118 bilateral resections of the lungs carried out within 4 years at the Chelyabinsk Regional Antituberculosis Hospital, among which 63% (74) were one-stage bilateral operations. A clinical effect was produced in 97.5% of patients. Postoperative mortality was 1.7%. The authors prefer one-stage bilateral resections and resort to stage-by-stage operations only in cases with severe concomitant diseases, marked respiratory insufficiency, in a large volume of the resection, particularly if it is combined with thoracoplasty. A transsternal approach in one-stage bilateral resections is indicated when the upper parts of the lung must be resected in a large volume, in cases in which difficulties in exposure of the lungs are not expected; one-stage opening of both pleural sacs is recommended in this case for adequate inspection of the lungs before their resection.