Abstract
During the past few years there has been a trend towards tissue preserving surgery in the treatment of lung cancer. Eight cases of bronchogenic carcinomas which underwent angioplastic procedures of the pulmonary artery were reported.
We believe the angioplastic procedure, similar to the bronchoplastic procedure, is a useful operative method in regard to preserving normal lung tissue, particularly in patients with advanced age and/or limited respiratory reserves. With this procedure we can avoid pneumonectomy and give patients good quality of postoperative life.
However in respect to the angioplastic procedure we must take care concerning the following items.
1. Infection may cause rupture or stenosis at the site of anastomosis.
2. It is important to avoid causing stenosis at the suture line of the pulmonary artery.
3. Since the lung has dual adjacent components, vessels and bronchi, sleeve resection of the pulmonary artery is limited in length. In these cases replacement with artificial graft such as Gore-Tex may be useful.
4. During the operative procedure the main pulmonary artery and/or bronchus are completely occluded, hence the risk of acute pulmonary edema in the remaining lung increases in operative procedures requiring extended time.
