Abstract
To describe a technique for video-assisted lobectomy through the auscultatory triangle (VALAT) and to assess early and medium-term outcome of the procedure in patients with non-small cell bronchopulmonary carcinoma in stage I. Between April 1999 and May 2002 we performed 25 VALAT procedures (24 lobectomies and 1 bilobectomy) in 25 patients with a mean age of 63.6 years (range 39-80). No deaths occurred during or after surgery. Conversion to conventional thoracotomy was necessary in two cases. One patient was re-operated to resolve hemothorax and one developed a bronchopleural fistula that was treated by pleural drainage. The mean hospital stay was 6.3 days. Twenty-three patients have been disease-free throughout a mean follow-up period of 11.5 months (range 1-36). The two-year actuarial survival rate (Kaplan-Meier) was 93% 7%. VALAT is a safe procedure that nevertheless requires specific training. The rate of complications was low in our patient series and mortality was nil. The outcome for patients with stage I bronchogenic carcinoma over a two-year follow-up period has been comparable to results obtained with conventional thoracotomy.
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