The aim of this study was to evaluate our personal experience with video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy and compare survival between this procedure and conventional lobectomy via open thoracotomy in patients with clinical stage IA non-small cell lung carcinoma. Between May 1997 and December 2004, 140 patients with clinical stage IA non-small cell lung carcinoma had either VATS lobectomy (VATS...

BACKGROUND/AIM To describe a novel, easy, and secure thoracoscopic surgical approach for esophageal leiomyomas. MATERIALS AND METHODS We retrospectively analyzed 18 cases in which patients were treated at a single center between 1991 and 2011 for esophageal leiomyoma. We compared our results of patients who were treated by open surgery with those who were treated by the thoracoscopic approach...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to identify predictors of delayed endotracheal extubation defined as the need for postoperative ventilatory support after open thoracotomy for lung resection. DESIGN An observational cohort investigation. SETTING A tertiary referral center. PARTICIPANTS The study population consisted of 2,068 patients who had open thoracotomy for pneumonectomy, lobectom...

OBJECTIVES In Japan, as of March 2010, only 13 hospitals were using the da Vinci® system and only for selected cases. Few clinical robotic lung surgery has been done in Japan, and there are no standardized training programs, although some exist in the U.S. and are under consideration by the Japanese society for thoracic surgery. We have used the da Vinci S® Surgical System for pneumonectomy and...

a t i AIN AFTER thoracotomy and thoracoscopic surgery can cause patient distress, impair respiratory function, and deay recovery.1,2 Epidural analgesia is generally regarded as a tandard of care for patients undergoing thoracotomy,1,3 but pidural block is probably not warranted for less invasive horacic surgery. Sometimes, however, the extent of surgery is nclear until histopathology results ar...

An aberrant right subclavian artery (ARSA) arising from the proximal portion of the descending thoracic aorta is the most common congenital anomaly of the aortic arch. This irregularity occurs in 0.51% of the population. Degenerative aneurysmal changes may occur in the proximal portion of an ARSA or at its aortic origin. This abnormal vessel passes posterior to the esophagus, and, in rare cases...