[Intraoperative Navigation System during Thoracoscopic Segmentectomy for Non-palpable Pulmonary Tumors;Infrared...

Recently, the use of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) segmentectomy for pulmonary malignancies has increased. For non-palpable lesions, securing a sufficient surgical margin is more likely to be uncertain. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of our intraoperative navigation system in combination with the infrared thoracoscopy (IRT)-indocyanine green (ICG) method and intraoperative computed tomography (CT) during VATS segmentectomy for non-palpable pulmonary malignancies.

This study involved 12 consecutive patients who underwent both IRT-ICG and intraoperative CT-assisted thoracoscopic segmentectomy. Identification of the intersegmental line on the visceral pleura was visualized using IRT-ICG. The intersegmental line was marked by clipping, and intraoperative CT scan was performed under bilateral lung ventilation. The intraoperative CT images were used by the surgeons to confirm the correct anatomic segmental border and to secure a sufficient resection margin.

A well-defined intersegmental line was observed in 83.3% of the patients. The rate of concordance between 3-dimensional (3D)-CT images reconstructed from intraoperative CT and preoperative simulation 3D-CT imaging was 91.7%. The mean surgical margin assessed on gross examination by the pathologist was 22.3 ± 4.5 mm. Complete resection was achieved in all patients using this approach.

Imaging support including preoperative simulation, IRT-ICG and intraoperative CT enables surgeons to perform definitive VATS segmentectomy for non-palpable lesions.