Background: Surgical margin recurrence following segmentectomy is a critical issue because it may have been avoided by lobectomy.
Methods: Between January 2000 and December 2018, we retrospectively investigated 199 patients who underwent segmentectomy for c-StageⅠ non-small cell lung cancer at our hospital.
Results: Recurrence occurred in 20 cases, of which 3 cases had surgical margin recurrence. In our previous study, the recurrence risk factor after segmentectomy was radiologic solid tumor size( cut-off value 1.5 cm). Of the 130 patients in the low-risk group with radiologic solid tumor size of less than 1.5 cm, five had any recurrence, three of which had surgical margin recurrence. In the high-risk group with radiologic solid tumor size of 1.5 cm or more, no surgical margin recurrence was observed. Three cases of surgical margin recurrence were accompanied by lepidic components, and the tumors were difficult to identify intraoperatively and were located close to adjacent areas.
Conclusion: Surgical margin recurrence may be avoided by carefully considering the segments to be resected and improving the method for identifying the intersegmental plane.