Results of surgical management of tuberculosis: experience in 206 patients undergoing operation

Between January 1978 and December 1990, 206 operations for pulmonary tuberculosis were performed at our institution, a former sanatorium located in northern Italy. Patients with tuberculoma and pleural tuberculous disease were excluded from this series. Cavitary sequelae, bronchiectases, and hemoptysis were the most common indications for resection. Scar cancer and mycetoma were associated diseases in more than 60% of the patients. Healing was achieved in 90% of the patients. Operative mortality was 3%. Overall morbidity was 29.1%. Patient stratification showed that sputum-positive patients had a higher morbidity (30%) and a lower healing rate (86.2%). Before operation, an accurate assessment of both the performance status and the functional reserve of the surgical candidates is emphasized. Despite a high complication rate, aggressive surgical treatment of drug-resistant tuberculosis or its stabilized sequelae is warranted to achieve anatomobiological eradication of the disease, thus avoiding long-term troublesome complications.