Search

Videoassisted Thoracoscopic Lobectomy and Conventional Thoracotomy to Primary Nonsmall Cell Lung Cancer

Objective To investigate the clinical value of using videoassisted thoracoscopic lobectomy（VATS lobectomy） to treat primary nonsmall cell lung cancer(NSCLC) so that the videoassisted thoracoscopic surgery(VATS) can be better used in clinic. Methods From September 2007 to December 2008, seventysix NSCLC patients were collected. Thirtyseven patients underwent VATS lobectomy(VATS group), 21 male and 16 female with an average age of 60.4 years. Among them 20 underwent videoassisted minithoracotomy lobectomy, and 17 underwent total thoracoscopic lobectomy. Thirtynine patients underwent conventional thoractomy(conventional thoracotomy group), 32 male and 7 female with an average age of 58.7 years. Perioperative clinical and laboratory parameters of the two groups were compared. Results There was no severe complication and perioperative mortality in both groups. There were statistical significances between VATS group and conventional thoracotomy group in incision length (7.6±1.9 cm vs. 28.5±3.6 cm, t=-31.390,P=0.000), postoperative dosage of dolantin(160±125 mg vs.232±101 mg，t=-2.789,P=0.007), postoperative chest tube time(chest tube output＞100ml,4.8±2.5 d vs. 8.1±3.2 d，t=-4.944,P=0.000） and postoperative hospitalization time(12.1±3.0 d vs. 15.7±4.7 d，t=-3.945,P=0.000). There was no statistical significance between two groups in operation time（t=1.732，P=0.087）, intraoperative blood loss（t=-1.645，P=0.105） and the number of lymph node dissection（t=-0.088，P=0.930）. The total hospitalization expenses in VATS group were higher than that in conventional thoracotomy group, but there was no statistical significance（t=1.303，P=0.197）. The serum levels of glucose at 1st day after operation（7.2±1.2 mmol/L vs. 8.4±2.2 mmol/L, t=5.603,P=0.000）and the total count of white blood cell (12.7±3.8×10.9/L vs. 15.1±5.9×10.9/L,t=5.082,P=0.004) in VATS group were significantly lower than that in conventional thoracotomy group. The prealbumin(PA) level in VATS group was significantly higher than that in conventional thoracotomy group（215.0±45.5 mg/L vs.147.3+50.8 mg/L,t=-7.931,P=0.000). Conclusion VATS lobectomy could clean lymph node completely. Its advantages include less postoperative trauma, lower acute phase response, mild pain, rapid recovery, shorter hospitalization time and less economic burden. It could be an operation approach for early NSCLC patients who have been strictly selected.