Operation for preservation of lung parenchyma in central lung cancer--in vivo and ex situ reimplantation techniques.
OBJECTIVE
Lobar reimplantation techniques enable the safe resection of lung cancer when pneumonectomy is not desirable or not feasible. We report our experience with this procedure.


METHODS
Patients with difficult to resect upper/middle lobe non-small cell lung cancer were included. In situ reimplantation technique requires the reanastomosis of the pulmonary vein of the healthy lower lobe to the upper lobe stump; bench surgery reimplantation involves the ex vivo surgical treatment of the whole excised lung and subsequent reimplantation of the healthy remnant.


RESULTS
Nine patients with upper-middle lobe lung cancer underwent in situ reimplantation, mean age=70.7±4.2 years; 6 patients underwent ex situ resection, mean age=64.3±18.4 years. One obese patient succumbed due to thrombosis of the anastomosed pulmonary vein. One patient developed a stroke.


CONCLUSIONS
The procedure was in general well-tolerated and enables for curative resection of otherwise unresectable lung cancer.
Department of Oncology, Thessaloniki, Greece cemmanou@yahoo.gr.
Christos
C
Emmanouilides
Pulmonary Clinic, General Hospital "G. Papanikolaou", Thessaloniki, Greece.
Stavros
S
Tryfon
Department of Oncology, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Sofia
S
Baka
Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Hercules
H
Titopoulos
Cardiothoracic Surgery at Interbalkan European Medical Center, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Albert
A
Dager
Cardiothoracic Surgery at Interbalkan European Medical Center, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Dimitrios
D
Filippou
D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011013:Pneumonectomy / Q000379:methods*; D012092:Replantation / Q000379:methods*; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous
Non-small-cell lung cancer; autotransplantation; bench surgery; ex situ; in vivo; reimplantation