Lobectomy with bronchoplastic procedures for lung cancer

From April 1970 to October 1977, 19 patients with lung cancer of the upper lobar bronchus orifice underwent radical lobectomy with major bronchus resection. Sleeve lobectomy was accomplished in 11 cases and wedge lobectomy in the remaining 8. The length of the free bronchial margin in the surgical specimen was less than 1 cm in 3 cases, but limited pulmonary reserve did not allow pneumonectomy. Squamous carcinoma was diagnosed in 14 patients, adenocarcinoma in 2, oat-cell carcinoma in 2, and large cell carcinoma in one. Most cases (70%) were pathological stage I. There was one operative death due to anastomotic leakage (5%), and another patient required pneumonectomy completion. Of 13 patients with non oat-cell carcinoma and adequate bronchial resection, none had local recurrence: 3 patients developed distant metastases, and 10 are alive and disease-free after a follow-up period ranging from 16 to 104 months. The authors conclude that in selected lung cancer patients lobectomy with bronchoplastic procedures is superior to pneumonectomy for tissue sparing advantages.