Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 29, 2025

Author Spotlight: A Non-Intubated Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery with Multimodal Analgesia and Sevoflurane Inhalation Anesthesia
Published on: May 26, 2023
POSTOPERATIVE ATRIAL FIBRILLATION - VIDEO-ASSISTED THORACOSCOPIC SURGERY VERSUS OPEN SURGERY
Paulo Veiga Oliveira1, Daniel Cabral2, Mariana Antunes2
1Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Santa Cruz Hospital, Lisbon, Portugal.
Objectives:
Compare the incidence of Postoperative atrial fibrillation (PAF) after anatomical lung resection for Non- Small-Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) following open surgery versus VATS.
Methods:
Single center retrospective study of all consecutive patients diagnosed with NSCLC submitted to anatomical lung resection from 2015 to 2019 (N=564).
Exclusion Criteria:
prior atrial fibrillation, previous lung surgery, concomitant procedures, pneumectomy, non-pulmonary resections, urgency surgery. Study population of 439 patients.
Primary End-Point:
incidence of PAF. Univariable analysis was used to compare the baseline characteristics of the 2 groups. Inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) multivariable logistic regression was used including 23 clinical variables to analyze the effect of the approach. The balance was assessed by standardized mean differences.
Results:
Thoracotomy was performed in 280 patients (63.8%) and 159 (36.2%) were submitted to VATS. Patients submitted to VATS were more likely to be females, had a lower prevalence of non-adenocarcinoma cancer, stage TNM IIIIV, Diabetes Mellitus, respiratory disease, and chronic heart failure. They were submitted less often to neoadjuvant therapy, bilobectomy and they presented higher levels of diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide. After IPTW adjustment, all clinical covariates were well balanced. PAF occurred in 8.6% of the patients undergoing thoracotomy and 3,8% of the patients after VATS. After IPTW adjustment, VATS was not associated with a lower incidence of PAF (OR 0.40; CI95%:0.140-1.171; p=0.095).
Conclusion:
In this study, minimally invasive non-rib spreading VATS did not decrease the incidence of PAF when compared with standard thoracotomy regarding anatomical lung resection for NSCLC.

