Uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic right upper sleeve lobectomy

The development of minimally invasive thoracic surgery in recent years is undeniable, VATS has evolved from the conventional three-port technique to an uniportal approach, without compromising the type of cases that can be operated successfully.

Thanks to the continuous progress of uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) the complexity of cases performed by this approach has improved remarkably since the first procedures were made, recent advances in surgical thoracoscopic technology had made feasible to achieve vascular and bronchial sleeve lobectomies. Anatomic variants in patients can increase the technical difficulty of the procedure making the process more challenging.

In this case the sleeve right upper lobectomy was performed by uniportal VATS despite the obstruction of the right pulmonary artery (PA) for the bronchial anastomosis.

In the hands of experienced surgeons in uniportal VATS with background in thoracoscopic suturing, sleeve lobectomies are feasible and safe to perform even when anatomic variants increase the complexity of the case.