Video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) lobectomy: the Japanese experience

Between September 1992 and October 1997, we performed 128 video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) lobectomies. The indications for surgery were 103 cases of lung cancer, 11 cases of bronchiectasis, 8 cases of granuloma, 4 cases of benign lesions, and 2 cases of metastatic tumors. Of the 103 cases of lung cancer, 62 were treated by VATS lobectomy with extended lymph node dissection for clinical stage I lung cancer, and the 4-year survival rate of final stage I lung cancer was 94.4%. VATS lobectomy is far less invasive than open thoracotomy, and survival rates after VATS lobectomy with extended lymph node dissection are comparable with those after open thoracotomy. Thus, VATS lobectomy with extended lymph node dissection should be considered as a standard surgical alternative to open thoracotomy for stage I lung cancer.