Objective To evaluate the safety，efficacy，short- and long-term clinical outcomes of complete video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery （VATS） lobectomy for non-small cell lung cancer （NSCLC）. Methods Clinical data of231 consecutive patients with NSCLC who underwent complete VATS lobectomy in the First Affiliated Hospital of NanjingMedical University between June 2006 and March 2011 were retrospective analyzed. There were 132 male and 99 femalepatients with their age of 15-81 （59.51±11.90） years. Preoperative cancer staging wasⅠa in 149 patients，Ⅰb in 50 patients，Ⅱa in 14 patients，Ⅱb in 13 patients and Ⅲa in 5 patients. There were 152 patients with adenocarcinoma，41 patients with squamous carcinoma，23 patients with bronchioalveolar carcinoma，5 patients with adenosquamous carcinoma，4 patients with large cell carcinoma，and 6 patients with other carcinoma. Follow-up data were statistically analyzed，and short-and long-term survival rates were calculated. Results No perioperative mortality was observed. Operation time was 60-370（199.14±51.04） minutes，and intraoperative blood loss was 10-2 300 （168.19±176.39） ml. Thirty-seven patients had postoperative complications including air leak，pulmonary infection，atelectasis，arrhythmia，subcutaneous emphysema andothers，who were all cured after conservative treatment. Mean number of dissected lymph nodes was 11.14±5.49，and meannumber of explored nodal stations was 3.66±1.52. There were 51 patients （22.08%） whose postoperative cancer staging wasmore advanced than preoperative cancer staging. Postoperative hospital stay was 3-36 （10.79±5.13） days. Primary causesof prolonged postoperative hospitalization included pulmonary air leak，pulmonary infection，preoperative concomitant chronic pulmonary diseases （COPD，asthma），and moderate to severe pulmonary dysfunction. A total of 228 patients werefollowed up for a mean duration of 40.83 months （22-82 months），and 3 patients were lost during follow-up. Overall 5-yearsurvival rates were 85.78%，52.54% and 32.70% for stageⅠ，stageⅡand stageⅢ-Ⅳpatients respectively. Five-year cancerfreesurvival rates were 80.00%，45.37% and 20.99% for stageⅠ，stageⅡand stageⅢ-Ⅳpatients respectively. ConclusionThe advantages of VATS lobectomy include smaller surgical incision，less injury and postoperative pain，quicker postoperative recovery and shorter hospital stay. Long-term survival rate is comparable to previous international and Chinese studies. VATS lobectomy can anatomically achieve complete tumor resection and systematic lymph node dissection. VATS lobectomy will become a standard surgical procedure for NSCLC patients.
Abstract： Objective To evaluate video-assisted thoracic surgery（VATS）and minimal incision thoracotomy（MIT）lobectomy for early stage non-small cell lung cancer patients and the impact upon postoperative quality of life（QOL）. Methods A prospective randomized controlled trial was conducted. From January 1, 2008 to December 10, 2011, the qualified patients with early stage NSCLC were recruited and randomized to VATS group （57 patients）and MIT group（49 patients）, totally 106 patients，57 males and 49 females, aged 57.60 years. The quality of life was assessed using Lung Cancer Symptom Scale （LCSS） before operation and at 1,3,6,9,12 months after operation. Results There were no significant differences between the 2 groups in age, sex, the location of tumor, tumor pathologic stage, pathological types, postoperative complications, tumor size, operative time, operative bleeding and air leak days. There were no symptoms after operation at the VATS group worse than the leve before operation. Five major symptoms, including appetit（1.04±0.71 vs.2.00±0.83, F=6.357，P=0.021）, fatigue （4.55±1.17 vs.10.19±2.10, F=4.721，P=0.043）, dyspnea（2.18±0.86 vs.10.26±2.05, F=10.020，P=0.005）, normal activity（5.16±1.70 vs.17.60±3.17, F=12.319，P=0.002）at the MIT group were deteriorated significantly at 1 month after the operation （P＜0.05）. Conclusion The VATS will lead to better quality of life for the patients with early stage NSCLC after surgery and lead to a smooth postoperative recovery.
Abstract: Objective To summarize the clinical experiences of applying completely videoassisted thoracoscopic lobectomy in pulmonary diseases treatment, and evaluate its safety, indication and efficacy. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 47 patients with pulmonary diseases undergoing completely videoassisted thoracoscopic lobectomy at the First People’s Hospital of Yunnan Province between October 2008 and November 2010. Among the patients, there were 35 males and 12 females with their age ranged from 30 to 72 years averaging at 61.5 years. Adenocarcinoma was present in 27 patients, squamous carcinoma in 9 patients, small cell carcinoma in 1 patient, tuberculosis in 3 patients, bronchiectasis in 3 patients, pulmonary inflammatory pseudotumor in 2 patients, hamartoma in 1 patient, and giant bulla in 1 patient. All patients underwent completely videoassisted thoracoscopic lobectomy which was carried out through three miniinvasive incisions without the use of rib spreader. Systemic lymph node dissection was performed for patients with malignancies. Blood loss, operation time, the rate of conversion to thoracotomy, postoperative hospital stay, and complications were observed. Results Completely videoassisted thoracoscopic lobectomy was successfully performed in 44 patients, and the other 3 patients were changed to open thoracotomy due to bleeding in one patient, T3 tumor in one patient and accidentally injured bronchus in one patient. The overall conversion rate was 6.4% (3/47). The mean operation time, blood loss and postoperative hospital stay were respectively 120±45 minutes, 150±80 ml, and 7±2 days. No perioperative death occurred. There were 9 patients of complications including lymphatic fistula, air leak, atrial fibrillation and atelectasis, and they all recovered after conservative treatment. Fortyfour- patients were followed up for -1 to 23 months with 3 patients missing. One-patient had bloody sputum during the followup, but recovered spontaneously later. Brain metastasis occurred to a stage Ⅲa patient with primary lung cancer 9 months after operation, and the patient survived after treatment with gamma knife. No recurrence happened to the other patients and their quality of life was good. Conclusion Completely videoassisted thoracoscopic lobectomy is a safe and feasible surgical procedure for patients with earlystage lung cancer and benign pulmonary lesions which need lobectomy. However, it is necessary to select the patients carefully in the early period of practising.