title: The complex care of severe emphysema: role of awake lung volume reduction surgery.
abstract: The resectional lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS) procedure entailing nonanatomic resection of destroyed lung regions through general anesthesia with single-lung ventilation has shown to offer significant and long-lasting improvements in respiratory function, exercise capacity, quality of life and survival, particularly in patients with upper-lobe predominant emphysema and low exercise capacity. However mortality and morbidity rates as high as 5% and 59%, respectively, have led to a progressive underuse and have stimulated investigation towards less invasive surgical and bronchoscopic nonresectional methods that could assure equivalent clinical results with less morbidity. We have developed an original nonresectional LVRS method, which entails plication of the most severely emphysematous target areas performed in awake patients through thoracic epidural anesthesia (TEA). Clinical results of this ultra-minimally invasive procedure have been highly encouraging and in a uni-center randomized study, intermediate-term outcomes paralleled those of resectional LVRS with shorter hospital stay and fewer side-effects. In this review article we analyze indications, technical details and results of awake LVRS taking into consideration the available data from the literature.
authors.affiliation: Departments of 1 Thoracic Surgery, 2 Pulmonology, 3 Epidemiology and Public Health, 4 Anatomic Pathology, 5 Anesthesia and Intensive Care, Policlinico Tor Vergata University, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Eugenio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pompeo
authors.affiliation: Departments of 1 Thoracic Surgery, 2 Pulmonology, 3 Epidemiology and Public Health, 4 Anatomic Pathology, 5 Anesthesia and Intensive Care, Policlinico Tor Vergata University, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rogliani
authors.affiliation: Departments of 1 Thoracic Surgery, 2 Pulmonology, 3 Epidemiology and Public Health, 4 Anatomic Pathology, 5 Anesthesia and Intensive Care, Policlinico Tor Vergata University, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Leonardo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Palombi
authors.affiliation: Departments of 1 Thoracic Surgery, 2 Pulmonology, 3 Epidemiology and Public Health, 4 Anatomic Pathology, 5 Anesthesia and Intensive Care, Policlinico Tor Vergata University, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Augusto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Orlandi
authors.affiliation: Departments of 1 Thoracic Surgery, 2 Pulmonology, 3 Epidemiology and Public Health, 4 Anatomic Pathology, 5 Anesthesia and Intensive Care, Policlinico Tor Vergata University, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Benedetto
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cristino
authors.affiliation: Departments of 1 Thoracic Surgery, 2 Pulmonology, 3 Epidemiology and Public Health, 4 Anatomic Pathology, 5 Anesthesia and Intensive Care, Policlinico Tor Vergata University, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dauri
keywords: Emphysema; awake VATS; awake thoracic surgery; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS); nonintubated VATS; nonintubated thoracic surgery