Thoracoscopic surgery for lung emphysema using an infrared camera

Localized emphysema is difficult to detect on normal thoracoscopy. Indocyanine green (ICG) was used to precisely delineate an emphysematous lesion using an infrared camera system in a 75-year-old woman with a large emphysematous lesion in the right lower lobe. Due to repeated infections of the emphysematous lesion, right basal segmentectomy for localized lung emphysema was performed. During surgery, ICG (0.5 mg/kg) was injected intravenously, and the emphysematous lesion was detected as a fluorescence defect. This method could be used for precise resection of large emphysematous lesions because it permits clear detection with a small amount of ICG.