title: How to clamp the main pulmonary artery during video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery lobectomy.
abstract: We sometimes run across difficulty in dissection of the pulmonary arteries due to dense pleural adhesions and bleeding from the pulmonary artery during the video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) lobectomy. In these cases, conversion of the VATS approach to open thoracotomy is a requisite. The presence of an easy and safe technique for pulmonary artery clamping will make the switch of the surgical procedure unnecessary. We developed the new technique for pulmonary artery clamping using 1-0 silk suture. This may become one of the standard techniques for pulmonary artery clamping not only in VATS but also in open thoracotomy, as well.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine, South 1, West 16, Chuo-ku, Sapporo 060-8543, Japan. atsushiw@sapmed.ac.jp
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Koyanagi
authors.forename: Shinji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakashima
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Higami
mesh_terms: D003250:Constriction; D006801:Humans; D007430:Intraoperative Care / Q000379:methods; D011013:Pneumonectomy / Q000379:methods*; D011651:Pulmonary Artery / Q000601:surgery*; D013536:Suture Techniques; D020775:Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted / Q000379:methods*