Bilateral lung nodules resection by image-guided video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery: a case series

We demonstrated the safety and feasibility of image-guided video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (iVATS) of bilateral lung lesions in a hybrid operating room.

This study was a retrospective analysis of a case series. A total of 7 patients with 15 small lung nodules underwent bilateral iVATS between July 2018 and May 2019. All procedures were completed within a single anesthesia procedure and performed in a hybrid operating room that had a cone-beam computed tomography (CT) apparatus equipped with a laser navigation system. The lesion characteristics, operation methods, and peri-operative clinical outcomes were summarized.

A total of 7 patients with 15 resected lung nodules were analyzed. The most common pathological result of our bilateral iVATS was metastasis. The median length of hospital stay was 5 days (range from 3 to 10 days). The median right chest tube duration was 2 days (range from 1 to 8 days), and the median left chest tube duration was 3 days (range from 2 to 5 days). Only one patient had a complication during his hospitalization period. There was no surgery-related mortality observed.

For bilateral pulmonary nodules, the iVATS procedure seems to be a feasible and cost-effective approach.