Impact of preoperative marking coils on surgical and pathologic management of impalpable lung nodules

The management of occult lung lesions, particularly subsolid opacities, is a new challenge because they are difficult to localize during surgery and the number of lesions detected by computed tomography (CT) is increasing.

Between February 2008 and December 2011, preoperative CT-guided marking with coils was systematically carried out to localize presumed impalpable nodules before video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). The procedure feasibility, reliability, and safety as well as its impact on the resection volume and on the pathologic examination strategy were examined.

This preoperative marking procedure was used for 68 nodules in 60 consecutive patients. The mean procedural time was 25 minutes/patient and complications included minimal asymptomatic pneumothorax (42 cases, 70%) and hemorrhagic suffusion (21 patients, 35%). Patients with non-retrieved coils during VATS required larger resection volumes (94.88 mm3 vs 20.65 mm3; p=0.008). The presence of a coil loop in the pleural space was not statistically associated with higher resected lung volume. Primary pulmonary adenocarcinoma was found in 42 patients (71.2%). Five nodules were associated with atypical adenomatous hyperplasia. Pathologic examination was considered to be improved by the presence of a coil next to the lesion but not within it. Coil placement modified the pathology practices for intraoperative analysis, as tissue sampling in the immediate vicinity of the coil was preferred to systematic sampling.

Impalpable lung nodules can be safely marked with coils preoperatively to improve their surgical and pathologic management.