Thoracoscopic left upper lobectomy in patients with internal mammary artery coronary bypass grafts

This study examined outcomes of a technique for performing thoracoscopic left upper lobectomy (LUL) in patients with a previous left internal mammary artery (LIMA) coronary artery bypass graft, where a small wedge of lung parenchyma adjacent to the graft is left to avoid injury.

All patients undergoing thoracoscopic LUL from 1999 to 2010 at a single institution were reviewed. Perioperative morbidity, cancer recurrence, and long-term survival were compared between patients who had (LIMA group) or did not have (control group) a previous LIMA graft.

During the study period, 290 patients underwent thoracoscopic LUL; 14 (5%) had previous LIMA grafts. There was no perioperative mortality in the LIMA group versus 4 (1%) in the control group (p = 0.65). One patient (7%) in the LIMA group required conversion to thoracotomy, which was similar to the control group (n = 16, 6%; p = 0.83). Overall perioperative morbidity was also not different between the groups (LIMA 36% [5 of 14] versus control 29% [81 of 276], p = 0.61). No patient in the LIMA group had perioperative cardiac ischemia. For patients with lung cancer, 5-year survival (LIMA 50% vs control 63%, p = 0.23) and cancer recurrence rates (LIMA 27% (3 of 11) versus control 15% (36 of 242), p = 0.27) were not different between the groups. Only 1 LIMA recurrence was local, and it was not related to the parenchyma left on the LIMA graft.

Thoracoscopic LUL can be performed safely in patients with LIMA bypass grafts. Leaving lung parenchyma on the graft may prevent injury and does not compromise oncologic outcomes in appropriately selected patients.