Preoperative evaluation of lobulation of the lung by peripheral vessel depiction on CT angiography

Abstract

Preoperative evaluation of lobulation between the upper and middle lobes of the lung is difficult on conventional CT scanning.
We evaluated the degree of lobulation through our designed peripheral vessel depiction method on the basis of preoperative CT angiography in 15 patients who underwent right upper lobectomy from January to December 2010. The degree of lobulation between the upper and middle lobes was classified into 3: good, fair, and poor.
In 3 of the 5 cases classified as good regarding lobulation, division of the minor fissures was unnecessary on surgery, while all of the 9 fair cases and 1 poor case required division of the fissures with Endo GIA^TM; the poorly lobulated case required a thicker staple.
The results suggest that the preoperative evaluation of lobulation by employing the peripheral vessel depiction method is useful for lung surgery.