title: [Indication and role of the video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) for the primary lung cancer].
abstract: With advances in diagnostic technology, small peripheral lung cancer can be readily detected. Currently, the technique of endoscopic-surgery has become available for the treatment, and also video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) has proved useful for the treatment or diagnosis of early lung cancer. We report here our experience in surgical therapy with VATS and summarize recent reports which have focused on VATS for NSCLC. In the field of diagnosis, needle aspiration cytology or partial resection by VATS is available for small peripheral lesions. Either can play a significant role in staging for lung cancer or clarifying an unknown pleural effusion. VATS segmentectomy or partial resection with curability is applied to select cases. VATS lobectomy in NSCLC at clinical stage I could well be acceptable based on many recent reports and our result. This may be a valuable approach and a promising treatment for clinical stage II in the near future.
authors.affiliation: Second Dept. of Surgery, School of Medicine, Fukuoka University, Japan.
authors.forename: Akinori
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Iwasaki
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shirakusa
mesh_terms: D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000473:pathology*; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D008197:Lymph Node Excision; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011013:Pneumonectomy / Q000379:methods*; D020775:Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted; D020708:Thoracoscopes