Nonintubated Video-Assisted Wedge Resections in Peripheral Lung Cancer

Abstract

Wedge resection in peripheral lung cancer is considered a suboptimal procedure. However, in elderly and/or frail patients it is a reliable and safer alternative. This procedure can be easily performed under nonintubated anesthesia, allowing the recruitment of patients considered otherwise marginal for a surgical treatment. Nonintubated anesthesia can reduce lung trauma, operative time, postoperative morbidity, hospital stay, and global expenses. Furthermore, nonintubated anesthesia produces less immunologic impairment and this may affect postoperative oncological long-term results. Wedge lung resection through nonintubated anesthesia can be performed for diagnosis with higher effectiveness given the similar invasiveness of computed tomography-guided biopsy.

Keywords: Lung cancer; Nonintubated thoracic surgery; VATS.