Systematic lymph nodes dissection has been a standard procedure in lung cancer surgery, while the manipulation of mediastinal lymph nodes for early stage lung cancer remains controversial since surgeons have been weighing the advantages and disadvantages of different methods of lymph node dissection. With an increasing in early stage non-small cell lung cancer patients in recent years, there are more and more intensive studies especially focusing on the mediastinal lymph nodes dissection of clinical stage ⅠA lung cancer. In this review, the lymph nodes management of clinical stage ⅠA non-small cell lung cancer, especially systematic lymph nodes dissection and sampling as well as lobe-specific lymph node dissection, are summarized.
Compared to traditional suturing, lung stapling using automatic staplers offers advantages such as smaller trauma, faster wound healing, ease of operation, and lower complication rates, making it widely used in clinical practice. However, there are significant differences in bronchial tissue thickness at different anatomical locations, and the market is flooded with various types of staplers. Currently, there is a lack of recommended stapling schemes for bronchial staplers at different anatomical locations. This article reviews the development and application of automatic staplers and summarizes some types of staplers that are currently used in clinical practice, with the aim of promoting the formation of individualized stapler selection protocols for minimally invasive thoracic surgery based on the Chinese population.