title: Video-assisted thoracic surgery lobectomy reduces the morbidity after surgery for stage I non-small cell lung cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We conducted this study to evaluate the surgical invasiveness and the safety of video-assisted thoracic surgery lobectomy for stage I lung cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Video-assisted thoracic surgery lobectomies were performed on 43 patients with clinical stage IA non-small cell lung cancer. We compared the surgical invasiveness parameters with 42 patients who underwent lobectomy by conventional thoracotomy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Intraoperative blood loss was significantly less than that in the conventional thoracotomy group (151+/-149 vs. 362+/-321 g, p<0.01). Chest tube duration (3.0+/-2.1 vs. 3.9+/-1.9 days) was significantly shorter than those in the conventional thoracotomy group (p<0.05). The visual analog scale which was evaluated as postoperative pain level on postoperative day 7, maximum white blood count and C-reactive protein level were significantly lower than those in the conventional thoracotomy group (p<0.05). The morbidity rate was significantly lower than that in the conventional thoracotomy group (25.6% vs. 47.6%, p<0.05). Sputum retention and arrhythmia were significantly less frequent than in the conventional thoracotomy group (p<0.05). We experienced no operative deaths in both groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We conclude that video-assisted thoracic surgery lobectomy for stage I non-small cell lung cancer patients is a less invasive and safer procedure with a lower morbidity rate compared with lobectomy by thoracotomy.
authors.affiliation: Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Translational Medical Sciences, Nagasaki Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Masashi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Muraoka
authors.forename: Tadayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Oka
authors.forename: Shinji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Akamine
authors.forename: Tsutomu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tagawa
authors.forename: Akihiro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hashizume
authors.forename: Keitaro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.forename: Masato
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Araki
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tagawa
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nagayasu
mesh_terms: D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011013:Pneumonectomy / Q000379:methods*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000517:prevention & control; D020775:Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted