Treatment of Non-small Cell Lung Cancer by Single-direction Four-hole Complete Video-assisted Thoracoscopic Lobectomy HUANG Jia, ZHAO Xiao-jing, LIN Hao, TAN Qiang, DING Zheng-ping, LUO Qing-quan. (Shanghai Lung Tumor Clinical Medical Center, Department of Thoracic Surgery, Shanghai Chest Hospital, Shanghai 200030, P. R. China) Corresponding author：LUO Qing-quan, Email：luoqingquan@hotmail. com Abstract： Objective To explore the feasibility and safety of single-direction four-hole video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods Between January 2007 and December 2010, 428 patients with NSCLC were surgically treated by single-direction complete video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy in Shanghai Chest Hospital. There were 186 males and 242 females; aged 33 to 78 years. All the patients were diagnosed as primary NSCLC at early clinical stage. Among the 428 patients, 134 patients underwent right upper lobectomy, 48 patients underwent right middle lobectomy, 98 patients underwent right lower lobectomy, 4 patients underwent right middle and lower lobectomy, 72 patients underwent left upper lobectomy, and 72 patients underwent left lower lobectomy. All the 428 patients were divided into two groups according to their surgical approach：a three-hole group (300 patients) and a four-hole group (128 patients).The clinical results of the two groups were analyzed. Results A total of 412 patients underwent complete video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy, and 16 patients (3.7%) underwent conversion to open surgery. The average operation time was 132.1 (120-180) min, average length of incision was 3.7 (3-5) cm, and average blood loss was 150.0 (50-800) ml. There was no statistical difference in extubation time, intraoperative blood loss, and postoperative hospital stay between the two groups. But the operation time of the four-hole group is significantly shorter than that of the three-hole group （P＜0.05）. The 16 patients who underwent conversion to open surgery received intraoperative blood transfusion. Five patients died of severe pulmonary infection, pulmonary embolism, and acute cerebral infarction. Fifty two patients had squamous cancer, 340 patients had adenocarcinoma, 20 patients had adenosquamous carcinoma, 8 patients had poorly differentiated carcinoma, 6 patients had big cell lung cancer, and 2 patients had carcinoid. Postoperative persistent lung air leak occurred in 4 patients, thoracic empyema in 2 patients, pulmonary infection in 4 patients, arrhythmia in 26 patients, pulmonary embolism in 2 patients, chylothorax in 2 patients, and acute cerebral infarction in 2 patients. The overall 3-year survival rate was 83.6%（358/428）. Conclusion Single-direction four-hole complete video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy is feasible, safe and consistent with the operation standard in the surgical treatment for NSCLC patient. It is also helpful to reduce the operation time and facilitate lymph node dissection. Key words： Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery； Lobectomy； Single-direction； Four-hole； Non-small cell lung cancer