A preliminary study of completely thoracoscopic lobectomy

Objective To investigate the feasibility and technical issues involved of the completely thoracoscopic lobectomy. Methods From January to October in 2009, 15 cases (study group) accepted completely thoracoscopic lobectomy. The control group was composed of 25 cases who experienced video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy. The operative duration, intraoperative blood loss, chest drainage time, postoperative analgesic dosage and postoperative hospital stay were compared between the two groups. Also the technical issues involved were investigated. Results Chest drainage time, postoperative analgesic dosage and postoperative hospital stay were no significant difference between the two groups, but operative duration was longer than the control group, while the intraoperative blood loss in control group was more than that in study groups, there were statistically significant difference between the two groups in operative duration and intraoperative blood loss, P0.05. Conclusion Completely thoracoscopic lobectomy is a safe and effective minimally invasive surgery. The video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery may be a transition from conventional thoracotomy, but should strictly select appropriate cases to operated on.