Primary outcome of completely thoracoscopic pneumonectomy for non-small cell lung cancer

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the feasibility and safety of the completely thoracoscopic pneumonectomy for nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC).Methods From January 2009 to June 2012,16 patients with NSCLC received completely thoracoscopic pneumonectomy.Three incisions were made in the thoracoscopic pneumonectomy.Without softening the intercostal space,we used thoracoscopic equipment for anatomic lung resection under thoracoscopic vision totally and the sequence of operations of systematic lymph node dissection was basically the same as conventional thoracotomy.Evaluation indicators including lymph node dissection,operation time,bleeding loss,time of drainage,pathological staging,hospitalization time,and postoperative complications.Results All 16 patients with non-small cell lung cancer were operated safely,without serious complications and death in the period of operation.There was no case of conversion to thoracotomy.The mean operation time was(174.6 ± 52.7) minutes.There was no blood transfusion cases in the completely thoracoscopic group,whose blood loss is (121.8 ± 87.5) ml.The mean groups of lymph nodes dissection was (5.2 ± 1.1),The mean time of drainage was (4.2 ±1.8),The mean hospitalization time was (13.0 ± 3.1).Conclusion Completely thoracoscopic pneumonectomy for non-small cell lung cancer should achieve the same objective of thoracotomy in terms of effectiveness and thoroughness.By no increasing perioperative risk,it is worth summarizing the experience of completely thoracoscopic pneumonectomy for non-small cell lung cancer and promoting it to application. Key words: Thoracoscopic ; Pneumonectomy ; Carcinoma, non-small-cell lung