Video-assisted thoracic surgery segmentectomies: Brazilian experience

Abstract

There is growing enthusiasm with lung resections by video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) technique in Brazil. The benefits of these minimally invasive procedures and their incorporation in the routine of many Brazilian centers produced a significant increase of sublobar and lobar resections in the country. The changes in our daily practice, including improvements in lung cancer staging, the rising of lung cancer screening programs and the analysis of several recent studies showing equivalent long-term outcomes with sublobar resections, while we treat often an elderly and poor performance population, have made the thoracic surgeon to look to a sublobar resection as a potentially curative procedure. We sought to analyze the Brazilian and institutional experience with VATS sublobar anatomical resections for treatment of benign and malignant diseases, and discuss technical aspects as well. Even though is much underreported, the outcomes of VATS segmentectomies resemble what is observed around the world and constitute in an effective surgery when well indicated. The Brazilian Society of Thoracic Surgery database is improving the notification by many centers and this better quality of data will provide us a deep knowledge about the results of our procedures national-wide.