Comparison of clinical effects of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery and conventional thoracotomy for pulmonary lobectomy in lung cancer

Objective:To evaluate the short-term and long-term efficacy of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery(VATS) lobectomy treating for lung cancer.Methods:Two hundred and three patients with lung cancer from 2002 to 2006 were analyzed retrospectively.Patients were divided into conventional thoracotomy group(n=103) and VATS group(n=100).Recent and long-term effects were compared between these two groups.Results:The incision length,intraoperative blood loss,surgical drainage volume and hospitalization time in VATS group were less than those in conventional thoracotomy group(P0.01).The operative time between two groups showed no significant difference(P0.05).After three years of follow-up,1-year and 3-year postoperative survival rate in these two groups exhibited no significant difference(P0.05).Conclusions:VATS lobectomy treating for lung cancer is safe and feasible.Not only can it reduce the rate of exploratory thoracotomy,but also can achieve long-term efficacy as traditional thoracotomy does.Thus,VATS can be routinely performed on patients with lung cancer.