1995 Volume 35 Issue 2 Pages 115-119
Primary lung cancer cases with postoperative lymph node recurrence have poor prognoses, because there is at present no effective therapy. We examined 8 re-operated cases of lymph node recurrence, among 309 surgically treated cases of primary lung cancer in our hospital from 1986 to 1993. On the occasion of the primary operation, we performed R2a dissections in 5 cases, R2b in 1 through a posterolateral thoracotomy, and R3 γ in 2 through a median sternotomy.The average time between first operation and re-operation was 16 months, and the average time of survival after re-operation was 16 months (2 are alive at present). Based on these results, we conclude that we should perform systemic and extended radical lymph node dissections on the occasion of the primary operation (e.g.bilateral mediastinal lymph node dissection through a median sternotomy for left lung cancer cases, and extended ipsilateral mediastinal lymph node dissection through a posterolateral thoracotomy for right lung cancer cases).
