Management of solitary pulmonary nodule.
OBJECTIVE
The pulmonary nodule is an important diagnostic and therapeutic problem. Diagnostic certainty is only obtained by histological examination. Mini-invasive surgery allows removal of the nodule with minimal sequelae for the patient.


METHODS
From October 1991 to December 2006, 370 resections for a pulmonary nodule were performed at our Department of General Surgery of the University of Milan: 276 wedge resections and 94 lobectomies.


RESULTS
Frozen section was performed in all the wedge resections, and in the presence of cancer (77 cases), whenever possible (61 cases), the intervention was converted to lobectomy in the same session. In the other 94 cases, the nodule was removed by lobectomy due to the impossibility of performing a wedge resection.


CONCLUSIONS
Despite the refinement of diagnostic techniques, only exeresis of a pulmonary nodule ensures a definitive diagnosis, thus resolving the problem of benign pathologies and initiating the correct therapy for malignant lesions in the same session.
Varoli
Federico
F
Department of General Surgery, University of Milan, Ospedale San Giuseppe, A.Fa.R., Milan, Italy. federico.varoli@unimi.it
Vergani
Contardo
C
Caminiti
Rocco
R
Francese
Massimo
M
Gerosa
Camillo
C
Bongini
Marco
M
Roviaro
Giancarlo
G
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D003074:Solitary Pulmonary Nodule / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D020775:Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted