Medium-Term Pulmonary Function Test After Thoracoscopic Lobectomy and Segmentectomy for Congenital Lung Malformation:...

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Surgery
• Thoracic Surgery
• Pulmonary Medicine

Background:

• Congenital lung malformations (CLMs) are a significant cause of respiratory distress in infants.
• Surgical management of CLMs often involves either segmentectomy or lobectomy.
• Understanding the long-term pulmonary function outcomes after these procedures is crucial for patient management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the short-term and medium-term pulmonary function test (PFT) outcomes between thoracoscopic segmentectomy and lobectomy in infants with CLMs.
• To evaluate the overall surgical outcomes, including hospital stay and drainage, for both procedures.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective study of 19 infants undergoing thoracoscopic segmentectomy for CLMs.
• Propensity score matching used to compare with 19 infants undergoing thoracoscopic lobectomy.
• Postoperative PFTs at 1 month and 2 years, with age-matched healthy individuals as controls.

Main Results:

• No significant difference in hospital stay length between segmentectomy and lobectomy groups.
• Segmentectomy group experienced more chest tube drainage.
• Lobectomy group showed lower tidal volume and signs of small airway dysfunction at 1 month post-op; these resolved by 2 years, with no significant PFT differences among groups.

Conclusions:

• Thoracoscopic segmentectomy demonstrates superior short-term pulmonary function recovery compared to lobectomy in infants with CLMs.
• Both thoracoscopic lobectomy and segmentectomy result in normal lung function at the 2-year follow-up.