Intrapericardial Pulmonary Vein Ligation to Prevent Stump Thrombosis During Left Upper Lobectomy

Postoperative cerebral infarction, a serious complication of surgery, is occasionally experienced with pulmonary vein stump thrombosis (PVST), which is frequently observed after left upper lobectomy (LUL). Herein, we prospectively investigated whether PVST could be safely prevented by intrapericardial ligation of the superior pulmonary vein (SPV) to shorten the SPV stump during LUL.

In a consecutive 21 patients who underwent LUL, we ligated the proximal intrapericardial SPV with 1-0 silk suture and divided the distal hilar SPV by an automatic stapling device. We measured the SPV stump length from the left atrium to the point of ligation and evaluated the presence of PVST on postoperative computed tomography. The procedure time was measured as the time from pericardial treatment initiation to the distal SPV division. Furthermore, the safety of the procedure and postoperative complications were evaluated and compared with those of 76 historical control patients who underwent LUL without intrapericardial SPV ligation.

The median procedure time was 8.8 minutes, and the median blood loss was 3 g. The median length of the SPV stump after the procedure was 5.0 mm. The 30- and 90-day mortality rates were both 0% for patients who underwent LUL with SPV ligation. None of the patients in the SPV ligation group showed signs of PVST on postoperative contrast-enhanced computed tomography images or had cerebrovascular disease. No significant difference in postoperative complications was observed between the groups.

Intrapericardial SPV ligation is safe and has a potential to prevent cerebral infarction after LUL.