Abstract： Objective To investigate the effect of singledirection lobectomy plus systematic lymphnode dissection for primary nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in the early stage by videoassisted thoracic surgery (VATS). Methods We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 89 patients who received VATS lobectomy plus systematic lymphnode dissection for earlystage primary NSCLC in the Second People’s Hospital of Chengdu between June 2006 and December 2009. Based on the operative approach, the patients were divided into two groups: VATSminithoracotomy group and singledirection lobectomy VATS group. In the former group, there were 46 patients, including 36 males and 10 females, with an age of 58.76±14.78 years. For patients in this group, minithoracotomy was carried out assisted by VATS. In the latter group, there were 43 patients, including 37 males and 6 females, with an age of 61.34±12.56 years, and singledirection lobectomy VATS was performed for patients in this group. Moreover, 42 patients undergoing routine posterior lateral open thoracotomy were chosen to form the control group (thoracotomy group, included 37 males and 5 females with an age of 56.30±15.59 years). The clinical features, such as operative time, operative blood loss, the number of systematic dissected lymph nodes, postoperative drainage quantity, postoperative complications and visual analogue scale (VAS) of chest pain were retrospectively analyzed to evaluate the early outcomes. Results No operative death occurred in all three groups. There were significant differences among the three groups in the postoperative drainage time (P=0.024), postoperative drainage quantity (P=0.019), operative blood loss (P=0.009), early outofbed activity time (P=0.031), and the incidence of cardiopulmonary complications (P=0.048). Compared with the VATSminithoracotomy group, the singledirection lobectomy VATS group was significantly lower or shorter (Plt;0.05) in postoperative drainage quantity (208.33±50.39 ml vs. 245.98±45.32 ml), operative blood loss (78.79±24.23 ml vs. 112.63±64.32 ml), and the early outofbed activity time (2.31±0.27 d vs. 3.56±0.31 d). The rate of using Dolantin in the control group was significantly higher than the other two groups (P=0.046, 0.007). The change of VAS score among the three groups after operation was also statistically significant (F=5.796, P=0.002). A total of 109 patients (37 in the VATSminithoracotomy group, 37 in the singledirection lobectomy VATS group, and 35 in the control group) were followed up after operation with a period of 2 to 48 months. Twentytwo patients were lost in the followup. There were 10, 9, and 8 deaths during the followup in the three groups respectively, and the median survival time was 40 months, 37 months, and 37 months respectively. There was no significant difference among the three groups in survival time (P=0.848). Conclusion VATS, especially VATS assisted single direction lobectomy and systematic lymphnode dissection for primary NSCLC in the early stage has the same surgical efficacy as the traditional open thoracotomy, and is minimally invasive, which contributes to a quick recovery. Consequently, it is a reliable approach for lung cancer in the early stage.
Objective To summarize the experiences of applying gastric tube in minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE), in order to assess its feasibility and safety. [WTHZ]Methods From June 2004 to August 2009, MIE was performed on 102 patients with esophageal carcinoma, including 71 males and 31 females whose age ranged from 37 to 79 years old with an average age of 61.1. Among them, 62 patients underwent thoracoscopic laparotomy 3-incision esophagectomy, 35 patients underwent thoracoscopic and laparoscopic 3-incision esophagectomy and 5 patients underwent thoracotomy and laparoscopic esophagectomy. Prevertebral reconstruction was performed on 58 patients and retrosternal reconstruction was performed on 44 patients. [WTHZ]Results All operations were performed successfully with a perioperative mortality rate of 2.0%(2/102) and a postoperative complication rate of 41.2%(42/102). The complications included anastomotic leakage, anastomotic stricture and lung infection. The complication rate was higher in the retrosternal group than in the prevertebral group (56.8% vs. 29.3%, Plt;0.05). Anastomotic leakage rate in the retrosternal group was also higher than that in the prevertebral group (34.1% vs. 6.9%, Plt;0.05). There was no significant difference in anastomotic stenosis, gastric fistula, dysfunction of gastric emptying, heart and lung complications, chylothorax and injury of recurrent laryngeal nerve between the two groups. [WTHZ]Conclusion Gastric tube is an effective way for reconstruction of the digestive tract after minimally invasive esophagectomy. The choice of prevertebral reconstruction or retrosternal reconstruction should be based on each individual patient.