Intersegmental plane simulation based on the bronchus-vein-artery triad in pulmonary segmentectomy

Area of Science:

• Thoracic Surgery
• Surgical Oncology
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Reliable methods for simulating the intersegmental plane in lung segmentectomy are limited.
• This study introduces a novel simulation technique based on the bronchus-vein-artery triad.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of intersegmental plane simulation using the bronchus-vein-artery triad in three-dimensionally reconstructed images.
• To assess its impact on preoperative planning and surgical outcomes for early lung cancer segmentectomy.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 120 patients with early-stage lung cancer undergoing three-dimensional imaging-guided single-port thoracoscopic segmentectomy.
• Patients were divided into intersegmental plane simulation and non-simulation groups.
• Comparison of clinical characteristics, operation status, and postoperative recovery between groups.

Main Results:

• Intersegmental plane simulation demonstrated 91.8% accuracy in identifying the surgical plane.
• The simulation group showed a reduced rate of gross margin insufficiency compared to the non-simulation group (0% vs. 8.5%).
• No significant differences were observed in general characteristics or overall operation/recovery between groups, except for chest drainage duration.

Conclusions:

• The bronchus-vein-artery triad-based intersegmental plane simulation is a reliable method for preoperative planning in lung segmentectomy.
• This technique assists surgeons in achieving complete resection of early lung cancer with adequate surgical margins.