Objective To evaluate the clinical effects of harmonic scalpel application in thoracoscopic surgery for lung cancer, which may guide its reasonable application. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 145 lung cancer patients receiving thoracoscopic surgery from January to March 2017 in our hospital. There were 57 patients with thoracoscopic pulmonary wedge resection, and harmonic scalpel was used in 34 patients (8 males, 26 females at age of 59.68±10.91 years), and was not used in 23 patients (13 males and 10 females at age of 59.13±11.21 years). There were 88 patients receiving thoracoscopic pulmonary lobectomy, among whom harmonic scalpel was used in 80 patients (36 males and 44 females at age of 59.68±10.91 years), and was not used in 8 patients (5 males, 3 females at age of 61.63±5.60 years). We recorded the perioperative outcomes of all patients. Results In the 34 patients undergoing thoracoscopic pulmonary wedge resection by harmonic scalpe, the operation time was 90.09±43.52 min, the blood loss was 21.32±12.75 ml, the number of lymph nodes resected was 5.12±4.26, duration of drainage was 3.15±1.16 d, volume of drainage was 535.00±291.69 ml, the length of postoperative hospital stay was 4.56±1.40 d, and no postoperative complication was observed. In the 80 patients receiving thoracoscopic pulmonary lobectomy by harmonic scalpel, operation time was 131.88±41.82 min, blood loss was 42.79±31.62 ml, the number of lymph nodes resected was 13.54±8.75, duration of thoracic drainage was 4.47±2.30 d, drainage volume was 872.09±585.24 ml, the length of postoperative hospital stay was 5.81±2.26 d, and 20 patients had postoperative complications. No complication occurred in the 8 patients without harmonic scalpel. Conclusion Harmonic scalpel showed satisfactory effectiveness and safety in lung cancer thoracoscopic surgery.
Objective To investigate the surgical procedure selection, operation technique and safety of anatomic sublobar resection for pulmonary nodules. Methods The clinical data of 242 patients with clinical stage ⅠA lung cancer who underwent anatomic sublobar resection in our hospital between 2017 and 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 81 males and 161 females with a median age of 57.0 (50.0, 65.0) years. They were divided into 4 groups according to the surgical methods, including a segmentectomy group (n=148), a combined segmentectomy group (n=31), an enlarged segmentectomy group (n=43) and an anatomic wedge resection group (n=20). The preoperative CT data, operation related indexes and early postoperative outcomes of each group were summarized. Results The median medical history of the patients was 4.0 months. The median maximum diameter of nodule on CT image was 1.1 cm, and the consolidation/tumor ratio (CTR) was ≤0.25 in 81.0% of the patients. A total of 240 patients were primary lung adenocarcinoma. The median operation time was 130.0 min, the median blood loss was 50.0 mL, the median chest drainage time was 3.0 d, and the hospitalization cost was (53.0±12.0) thousand yuan. The operation time of combined segmentectomy was longer than that of the segmentectomy group (P=0.001). The operation time (P=0.000), intraoperative blood loss (P=0.000), lymph nodes dissected (P=0.007) and cost of hospitalization (P=0.000) in the anatomic wedge resection group were shorter or less than those in the other three groups. There was no significant difference in the drainage time, total drainage volume, air leakage or postoperative hospital stay among the four groups (P>0.05). Conclusion The combined application of segmentectomy and wedge resection technique provides a more flexible surgical option for the surgical treatment of early lung cancer with ground glass opacity as the main component.
Objective To compare the safety and efficacy of thulium laser wedge resection of the lung under uniportal thoracoscopy with the other two traditional surgical methods (mechanical cutting stapler wedge resection and segmentectomy) in the treatment of small pulmonary nodules.MethodsClinical data of 125 patients with small pulmonary nodules receiving uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery from December 2017 to December 2018 in our hospital were retrospectively analyzed. Among them, 33 patients had thulium laser wedge resection (a thulium laser group), including 10 males and 23 females, with an average age of 59.21±11.31 years; 48 patients had mechanical stapling pulmonary wedge resection (a mechanical stapling pulmonary wedge resection group), including 17 males and 31 females, with an average age of 57.27±11.30 years; and 44 patients had pulmonary segmentectomy (a pulmonary segmentectomy group), including 21 males and 23 females, with an average age of 63.00±9.68 years. The surgical margin air leakage, operation time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative hospital stay, drainage days, average daily drainage volume, fever, pain and hospitalization expenses were compared among the three groups. ResultsThe body mass index, gender, smoking history, benign and malignant pathological results, average maximum diameter of lesions and lesion location distribution were not statistically different among the three groups (P>0.05). The average age and the proportion of pleural adhesions in the thulium laser group were not statistically different from those of the other two groups (P>0.05). In the distribution of the number of lesions, the proportion of multiple lesions in the mechanical stapling pulmonary wedge resection group was higher than that of the other two groups, and there was no statistical difference between the other two groups. The intraoperative blood loss in the thulium laser group was less than that of the other two groups (P≤0.05). There was no statistical difference in the classification of surgical margin air leakage or the operation time among the three groups (P>0.05). The proportion of postoperative fever and hospitalization expenses in the thulium laser group were lower or less than those of the other two groups (P<0.05). The length of hospitalization stay and postoperative chest tube placement in the thulium laser group was significantly shorter than that of the pulmonary segmentectomy group (P<0.05), which was not statistically different from the mechanical stapling pulmonary wedge resection group (P>0.05). There was no statistical difference in the average daily drainage volume or the proportion of pain among the three groups (P>0.05). Conclusion The thulium laser wedge resection under uniportal thoracoscopy is a safe, effective and economical method for the treatment of small pulmonary nodules.
Objective To explore the feasibility and safety of 2 μm thulium laser in thoracoscopic wedge resection. Methods The clinical data of 137 patients who underwent thoracoscopic wedge resection with thulium laser (as a thulium laser group, 64 patients, including 22 males, 42 females, average age of 58.39±10.40 years) and staplers (as a stapler group, 73 patients, including 33 males, 40 females, average age of 60.79±10.96 years) in thoracic Department of Xuanwu Hospital between April 2016 and August 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. In the study, the intraoperative blood loss, the operative time, chest tube duration, daily amount of fluid leak, hospital stay and hospitalization costs were compared between two groups. Results The intraoperative blood loss of the thulium laser group (16.05±23.67 mL) was significantly shorter or lower than that of the stapler group (28.56±32.09 mL) (P=0.011). Besides, the post operation hospital stay and hospitalization costs of the thulium laser group (4.72±2.49 d, 37 127.33±9 302.14 yuan) were also significantly shorter or lower than those of the stapler group (5.67±2.02 d, 49 545.76±13 831.93 yuan) (P=0.015, P=0.000). Furthermore, no statistical difference was found between the thulium laser group and the stapler group in the operative time (116.38±41.91 min vs. 108.36±47.25 min), total hospital stay (10.13±2.98 d vs. 11.05±3.26 d), daily amount of fluid leak (138.38±72.23 mL vs. 152.7±77.54 mL), chest tube duration (2.89±2.34 d vs. 3.52±1.48 d) and the frequency of postoperative fever (0.89±1.55 times vs. 1.23±1.70 times). Conclusion Applying 2 μm thulium laser to thorascopic wedge resection is safe and feasible. Besides, 2 μm thulium laser can achieve a similar result to that of the standard technique by using staplers.
ObjectiveTo explore the feasibility and safety of using indocyanine green combined with autologous blood and methylene blue for localization of small lung nodules during thoracoscopic wedge resection. MethodsPatients who underwent CT-guided percutaneous lung puncture injection of localization agents to locate lung nodules at the First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University from November 2023 to January 2024 were selected. Under thoracoscopy, lung nodules were located by white light mode, fluorescence mode, or near-infrared mode and wedge resection was performed. The feasibility of using indocyanine green combined with autologous blood and methylene blue for localization of small lung nodules was preliminarily verified by evaluating whether the localization agent concentrated around the nodules, and the safety of this method was verified by analyzing the incidence of adverse reactions during patient puncture and surgery. ResultsA total of 30 patients with lung nodules were included, including 10 males and 20 females, with an average age of (55.5±11.2) years. In 26 patients, the amount of localization agent used was moderate, the localization agent concentrated around the nodules, and successful precise localization of small lung nodules was achieved. In 4 patients, due to excessive use of localization agent, the marker was diffuse with pleural staining. The overall localization success rate was 86.7%, and when the injection volume of localization agent was 0.2-0.5 mL, the localization success rate was 100.0%. All patients successfully completed thoracoscopic wedge resection and found nodule lesions, with negative margins and a distance from the margin to the lesion that met the requirements. There were no complications. ConclusionThoracoscopic surgery using indocyanine green combined with autologous blood and methylene blue for localization of small lung nodules is safe and feasible.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the safety and application value of three-dimensional reconstruction for localization of pulmonary nodules in thoracoscopic lung wedge resection.MethodsThe clinical data of 96 patients undergoing thoracoscopic lung wedge resection in our hospital from January 2019 to August 2020 were retrospectively reviewed and analyzed, including 30 males and 66 females with an average age of 57.62±12.13 years. The patients were divided into two groups, including a three-dimensional reconstruction guided group (n=45) and a CT guided Hook-wire group (n=51). The perioperative data of the two groups were compared.ResultsAll operations were performed successfully. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in the failure rate of localization (4.44% vs. 5.88%, P=0.633), operation time [15 (12, 19) min vs. 15 (13, 17) min, P=0.956], blood loss [16 (10, 20) mL vs. 15 (10, 19) mL, P=0.348], chest tube placement time [2 (2, 2) d vs. 2 (2, 2) d, P=0.841], resection margin width [2 (2, 2) cm vs. 2 (2, 2) cm, P=0.272] or TNM stage (P=0.158). The complications of CT guided Hook-wire group included pneumothorax in 2 patients, hemothorax in 2 patients and dislodgement in 4 patients. There was no complication related to puncture localization in the three-dimensional reconstruction guided group.ConclusionBased on three-dimensional reconstruction, the pulmonary nodule is accurately located. The complication rate is low, and it has good clinical application value.
Pulmonary endometriosis (PEM) is a rare disease with diverse clinical manifestations, most commonly presenting as hemoptysis, while patients presenting solely with pulmonary nodules are less common. Here, we report three female patients (aged 32, 19, and 46 years, respectively). One patient sought medical attention due to hemoptysis during menstruation, while the other two had no obvious symptoms and were found to have pulmonary nodules during routine physical examinations. Two patients had a history of cesarean section, and one had a history of miscarriage. Pathologically, one patient of PEM showed extensive hemorrhage in the alveolar spaces, with fragmented endometrial glandular epithelium observed within the hemorrhagic foci. The other two patients exhibited proliferative endometrial glands and stroma, surrounded by old hemorrhage. Immunohistochemistry revealed that the endometrial glands and stroma in all three patients were positive for estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and vimentin, with CD10 positivity in the endometrial stroma. All three patients were definitively diagnosed as PEM by pathology and underwent thoracoscopic pulmonary wedge resection. Follow-up periods were 18, 31, and 49 months, respectively, with no recurrence observed in any of the patients.
Lobectomy and systematic nodules resection has been the standard surgical procedure for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, increased small-size lung cancer has been identified with the widespread implementation of low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening, and it is controversial whether it is proper to choose lobar resection for the pulmonary nodules. Numerous retrospective researches and randomized clinical trials, such as JCOG0201, JCOG0804/WJOG4507L, JCOG0802 and CALGB/Alliance 140503, revealed that the sublobar resection was safe and effective for NSCLC with maximum tumor diameter≤2 cm and with consolidation tumor ratio (CTR)≤0.25, and that segmentectomy was superior to lobectomy with significant differences in 5-year overall survival rate and respiratory function for patients with small-size (≤2 cm, CTR>0.5) NSCLC and should be the standard surgical procedure. It is the principle for multiple primary lung cancer that priority should be given to primary lesions with secondary lesions considered, and it is feasible to handle the multiple lung nodules based on the patients' individual characteristics.