Initial experience of video assisted thoracoscopic pneumonectomy

Preliminary experience of video assisted thoracoscopic pneumonectomy in six patients with bronchogenic carcinoma is described.

Four left and two right pneumonectomies were performed under video thoracoscopic imaging. Thoracoscopic instruments were passed through two separate stab incisions on the lateral chest wall and a separate 6 cm submammary incision was also created to allow further access for instrumentation and removal of the resected lung. In this initial experience resection was restricted to patients with bronchogenic carcinomas of less than 6 cm in diameter who had no involvement of the mediastinum.

There were no operative deaths and no complications attributable to the technique. One patient developed postoperative atrial fibrillation and a small sacral sore and one patient was readmitted with abdominal pain and pyrexia which settled following exclusion of post pneumonectomy empyema. The remaining four patients made a rapid uncomplicated postoperative recovery with less pain and discomfort than that normally associated with a standard posterolateral thoracotomy. Postoperatively the mean (SD) patient controlled morphine consumption was 1.36 (1.90) mg per hour in the first 36 hours compared with the unit mean for open thoracotomy of 1.73 (1.68) mg per hour. The mean linear visual analogue pain score was 15.4 (15.6) in the first 24 hours compared with the unit mean for open thoracotomy of 34.5 (8.5).

Video assisted thoracoscopic pneumonectomy can be performed safely in patients who have stage I and stage II bronchogenic carcinomas, up to 6 cm in diameter, with no mediastinal involvement on mediastinoscopy and thoracic computed tomographic assessment. This technique may result in less postoperative pain and discomfort and should allow a quicker return to normal activities.