title: Minimally Invasive and Open Approaches to Mediastinal Nodal Assessment.
abstract: There is no consensus on mediastinal lymph node dissection versus sampling for early-stage lung cancer. There are also mixed data on the ability to remove an adequate number of lymph nodes by a minimally invasive approach. In this review, we discuss the difference between dissection and sampling, what circumstances dictate the use of one or the other during an anatomic pulmonary resection for lung cancer, and when it is appropriate to use minimally invasive versus open approaches in the assessment of mediastinal nodes.
authors.affiliation: Section of Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Crystal J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Erickson
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Felix G
authors.initials: FG
authors.lastname: Fernandez
authors.affiliation: Section of Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA. reddyrm@med.umich.edu.
authors.forename: Rishindra M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Reddy
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D008197:Lymph Node Excision / Q000379:methods*; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008482:Mediastinum; D019060:Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures; D018579:Patient Selection