title: Main bronchial sleeve resection with pulmonary conservation.
abstract: Twenty-seven main bronchial resections (19 left, 8 right) were performed without pulmonary resection between 1975 and 1991. The patients were 17 men and 9 women with an average age of 35 years (range, 20 to 65 years). Tumors comprised 55% of the lesions, including 9 carcinoid tumors (33%), 2 mucoepidermoid tumors, 2 fibrous histiocytomas, 1 hemangiopericytoma, and 1 large cell carcinoma. Scarring and stenosis secondary to multiple causes occurred in 10 patients (37%). Two patients had miscellaneous lesions. Presenting symptoms included dyspnea (52%), wheezing or stridor (44%), cough (41%), hemoptysis (37%), and pneumonia (18%). Preoperative chest roentgenogram was abnormal in 60% of patients, whereas tomograms delineated the lesion in 94%. All patients had bronchoscopy for lesion evaluation. Anesthesia was accomplished through a long single-lumen endotracheal tube in 19 cases and a double-lumen tube in 8 cases. Mobilization and exposure techniques to create a tension-free anastomosis were critical for left main bronchial resections and included pretracheal mobilization (100%), neck flexion (100%), tracheal and main bronchial retraction (85%), aortic and pulmonary artery retraction (44%), and intrapericardial hilar release (33%). All resections were for cure; there was no operative mortality. Morbidity in 4 patients (15%) included an anastomotic stenosis (successfully reresected), prolonged air leak and pneumonia, transient recurrent nerve palsy, and atelectasis. Median 5-year follow-up revealed 92% of patients alive, with only one of two late deaths being disease-related. Main bronchial resection is an ideal technique for selected benign and malignant lesions, allowing complete pulmonary parenchymal preservation.
authors.affiliation: General Thoracic Surgical Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston 02114.
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Newton
authors.forename: H C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Grillo
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Mathisen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001984:Bronchial Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D001999:Bronchoscopy; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D011859:Radiography