Video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) lobectomy for bronchogenic carcinoma

Video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) lobectomy remains controversial because surgeons have been concerned about the safety of the procedure and the adequacy of the cancer operation when it is performed for lung cancer. This review of a 4.5-year experience with 212 VATS lobectomies for primary lung cancer was undertaken to address these issues. All operations involved a standard anatomic dissection and lymph node sampling or dissection. The mean length of stay was 4.6 days. There were no serious problems of intraoperative bleeding. There was one death owing to mesenteric venous infarct. The 4.5-year survival for stage I lung cancer was 76%. The data suggest that a complete cancer operation for primary lung cancer can be safely performed with VATS, with survival that is comparable with operations performed with a thoracotomy.