Video-assisted thoracic surgery lobectomy for lung cancer: The point at issue

Among the four subjects addressed in this article, the definition of video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) lobectomy is fundamentally the point at issue, which leads to various obstacles for upcoming clinical trials. It is strongly expected that VATS lobectomy will be identified as a standard operation for primary lung cancer with confirmed clinical evidence. Standard surgical procedure with a certain oncological validity for lung cancer should be minimally invasive, safe, and technically simple for general thoracic surgeons. In conclusion, most patients with resectable lung cancer will be able to benefit from a validated painless VATS lobectomy in the near future. © 2011 The Japanese Association for Thoracic Surgery.