title: Radical video-assisted mediastinoscopic lymphadenectomy (VAMLA)--technique and first results.
abstract: Exact pretherapeutic lymph node staging of lung cancer is of special importance for selecting patients for neoadjuvant therapy or for video-assisted thoracoscopic resection. Staging is usually performed by computerized tomography scan and mediastinoscopy. However, these methods do not reach the accuracy of open nodal dissection. Therefore, we developed a technique of radical video-assisted mediastinoscopic lymphadenectomy (VAMLA). In a prospective study, all VAMLA procedures were documented. Lymph nodes were counted and compared to open lymphadenectomy. In 40/46 patients, radical paratracheal and subcarinal dissection was achieved by VAMLA. An average number of 20.7 (5-60, SD 11.1) nodes was gained. This is comparable to our data from open lymphadenectomy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Centre for Pneumology and Thoracic Surgery, Schillerhoehe Hospital, Solitudestrasse 18, D-70839 Gerlingen, Germany. martin@huertgen-huertgen.de
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hürtgen
authors.forename: Godehard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Friedel
authors.forename: Heikki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Toomes
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fritz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D008197:Lymph Node Excision / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008481:Mediastinoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D020775:Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome