RESUMEN
Introduction: Authors present their 7-year experience since the introduction of minimal-invasive (VATS) lobectomies for lung cancer in regard to their surgical technique, results and oncological follow-up. Method: 173 VATS lobectomies were performed between June 2011 and December 2017, 105 men and 68 women. The mean age of patients was 64.1 years. Duration of surgery was 130 minutes on average. Results: Conversion to thoracotomy was required in 8 cases (3 bleedings, 3 pulmonary vessel lymph node infiltrations, 2 bronchial suture insufficiencies). Twenty persistent air leaks developed postoperatively, requiring 10 re-drainages and 10 re-operations: 7 re-VATS and 3 thoracotomies. Two hematomas were evacuated by re-VATS, 1 postoperative atrial fibrillation required cardioversion. There were no perioperative deaths. The 164 malignant cases were: 110 adenocarcinomas, 32 squamous cell carcinomas, 6 small cell neuroendocrine carcinomas, 4 undifferentiated carcinomas, 4 carcinoid tumours, 1 synchronous adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, 1 synchronous adenocarcinoma and small cell carcinoma, 1 carcinosarcoma and 5 metastasis from other primary tumours. 118 patients received adjuvant chemotherapy. Tumour staging distribution was: IA 40, IB 53, IIA 29, IIB 16 and IIIA 21 cases. During an average follow-up time of 19.5 months, 9 local tumour recurrence and 27 distant metastasis evaluated, of which 11 were pulmonary (3 multiplex), 10 bone, 6 cerebral, 3 hepatic (1 multiplex), and 3 suprarenal gland. Conclusion: Our results correlate with published literature. During the period of this review, VATS lobectomies became a routine surgical technique in our department. Our experience proved that axillary thoracotomy is an advantage to learn the anterior VATS lobectomy technique.
