Operative Outcomes of Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Lobectomy for Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Objective To evaluate the safety, efficacy and clinical outcomes of complete video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy on non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC).

Methods We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 116 NSCLC patients (62 male, 54 female, median age: (59.5±11.9) years old, range: 35-82 years old) who underwent complete video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy in the Navy General Hospital of PLA. The survival rates from the follow-up data was analyzed and calculated by Kaplan-Meier method.

Results No perioperative mortality was observed. Operation time was 64-276 min and intraoperative blood loss was 60-560 ml. Postoperative hospital stay was 5-12days. Eleven patients had postoperative complications and were all cured by conservative treatment. Mean number of dissected lymph nodes was 12-31. A total of 11 patients were dead and four patients were lost during the follow-up. Overall 5-year survival rates were 77.6% for stageⅠ, 42.4% for stage Ⅱ and 20.8% for stage Ⅲ, respectively.

Conclusion The advantages of video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy include smaller surgical incision, less injury and postoperative pain, quicker postoperative recovery and shorter hospital stay. Long-term survival rate is comparable to open thoracotomy. Video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy can anatomically achieve complete tumor resection and systemati c lymph node dissection, and it has become a standard surgical procedure for early and middle stage NSCLC patients.