[Thoracic Surgery: The Era of Minimally Invasive Lobectomy]

The contingent of VATS (video assistend thoracic surgery) lobectomies will continue to increase in the time to come. Thoracic surgery departments that do not integrate this procedure into their routine spectrum will have to justify themselves to referrers and clinic administrations and will have problems with the recruitment of training assistants as well. The advantages of minimally invasive lobectomy are impressive and the long-term oncological results are equivalent to open lobectomy. VATS lobectomies in non-intubated patients will increase significantly in the next few years and further reduce the invasiveness of the operation. The number of clinics that offer RATS (roboter assistend thoracic surgery) lobectomies will also increase as more companies bring robot systems onto the market, making them significantly cheaper. Better screening programs for risk patients for lung cancer, rapid advances in thoracic oncology and further minimization of surgical trauma in lung resections will significantly improve the overall therapy and prognosis for lung cancer patients in the years to come.