1993 Volume 33 Issue 1 Pages 1-8
Twenty cases of exploratory thoracotomy for pulmonary nodules were observed during the period from January, 1986 to December, 1990. Fourteen cases were males and 6 were females. The average age was 51. Lesions were found by mass surveys in 10 of the patients, during the treatment of other diseases in 5 patients and by subjective respiratory symptoms in 5 patients. In the preoperative non-definitive clinical diagnosis, benign tumors were found in 10 cases and malignant in 10. Enucleation was performed for most benign tumors, while lobectomies were performed for malignant tumors. Pathological examination of resected specimens showed that among the 20 cases, there were 9 primary adenocarcinomas of the lung and 1 metastatic adenocarcinoma of the lung, 5 tuberculomas, 2 hamartomas, 2 plasma cell granulomas and 1 benign clear cell tumor. Three cases that were thought to be clinically malignant but turned out to be pathologically benign were all tuberculomas. It was concluded that thoracoscopy or exploratory thoracotomy is an effective method for cases of lung nodular shadows in which a definitive diagnosis cannot be reached.
