Background: Prolonged air leak (PAL) is one of the most common postoperative complications after pulmonary resection. The aim of this study was to reveal the incidence and risk factors of PAL in videoassisted thoracic surgery (VATS) lung cancer resection, and to evaluate the effect of PAL on postoperative complications, postoperative length of stay (PLOS), and medical costs.
Methods: Continuous patients who underwent VATS major pulmonary resection for lung cancer betweenJanuary 2014 and December 2015 were studied. Clinical data of these patients were obtained from the Western China Lung Cancer Database. PAL was defined as air leak more than 5 days after surgery. The risk factors for PAL were analyzed, as well as the effect of PAL on postoperative clinical recovery.