Video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) is currently considered a 'gold standard' approach for pulmonary lobectomy in patients with early-stage lung cancer, displaying equal or superior results compared with an open traditional approach. In patients with limited pulmonary function, VATS lobectomy may reduce the impact of surgery and allow outcomes similar to patients with normal pulmonary function. The preliminary analysis of our initial, single center series of VATS lobectomy showed less complications and shorter postoperative length of stay compared with a historical series of open lobectomy patients. Patients with reduced predicted preoperative FEV1% (ppoFEV1%) who underwent VATS lobectomy had similar outcomes compared with patients with normal ppoFEV1, but longer postoperative length of stay.
Keywords: VATS lobectomy; lung cancer; pulmonary function.