Thoracoscopic mediastinal lymph node dissection using an endoscopic spacer.

Although fewer lymph nodes are dissected with video-assisted thoracic surgery than with open lobectomy, thoracoscopic lobectomy is increasingly becoming the preferred surgical approach for early-stage lung cancers. The endoscopic surgical spacer SECUREA™ is a medical device that has been effectively employed in laparoscopic surgery, but no study has evaluated its efficacy in thoracoscopic surgery. In this report, we demonstrate the utility of SECUREA for complete thoracoscopic mediastinal lymph node dissection in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.