Lobectomy

Excerpt

Lobectomy is the surgical removal of the entire lobe of the lung. Dr. Davies performed the first reported lobectomy in 1913, but the patient died 1 week later due to a postoperative infection. With time, the surgical skills got refined, and with improvement in anesthesia technique and infection control, lobectomy became more prevalent with better outcomes. Traditionally, lobectomy has used a thoracotomy approach, but with the advent of video thoracoscope, video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) has become the procedure of choice. Lobectomy is useful for varied benign and malignant lung diseases. The candidate for lobectomy should have sufficient pulmonary reserve to tolerate the resection. The preoperative assessment focuses on cardiopulmonary function, functional patient's status, and postoperative mortality stratification. Growing evidence has shown that VATS lobectomy is efficient and lowers mortality and morbidity rates for what has become recommended as the first option in early-stage lung cancer and selected cases of benign lung diseases. Adequate postoperative management of the patient undergoing lobectomy, in conjunction with the VATS approach, promotes fast-tracking in thoracic surgery.