Recent advances in video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery for lung cancer

As a result of increased use of CT in both screening and daily practice, the number of early lung cancers has increased enormously. Surgeons pursue both curativity and reduced invasiveness in treating patients with early stage lung cancer; therefore, minimally invasive operations, such as video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) lobectomy are now being routinely performed. Most previous reports have shown that there is no difference in mortality and local recurrence between open surgery and VATS in stage I patients. However, surgeons' improved technical experience and patients' demands could soon make VATS lobectomy the operative method of choice for early stage lung cancer. Moreover, the indications for VATS are expanding to encompass complex procedures such as segmentectomy or sleeve resection. Training and dissemination of the technique and the monitoring of outcomes are necessary.