VATS lobectomy - New era in surgical treatment of NSCLC

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related death in the developed countries. Surgical, anatomic resection (typically a lobectomy) is still a gold standard for patients who have early-stage non-small cell lung cancer. In the past 20 years, video-assisted thoracic surgery has been performed with increasing frequency in the surgical treatment of lung cancer worldwide. This article reviews several published reports suggesting potential advantages of VATS lobectomy over "open" thoracotomy in terms of mortality, morbidity, postoperative pain, complication rate and patient's quality of life. VATS lobectomy is a reasonable option for the management of early-stage non-small cell lung cancer. The advantages of this procedure over "open" lobectomy are of established value. Of great significance is also ability to apply this operation safely in high-risk patients. © 2011 Springer.