1994 Volume 8 Issue 5 Pages 555-559
A study was done of the postoperative courses of 16 patients with lung cancer whose predicted postoperative forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV 1.0) calculated from perfusion or ventilation scans of the lung were less than 700ml/m2. Postoperative complications were encountered in 6 of the 16 patients. The 6 complications consisted of 2 atelectases, 1 respiratory failure, 1 cerebral embolism, 1 acute heart failure and 1 postoperative hemothorax. Two of the 3 patients with respiratory complications died of the complication.
The preoperative FEV 1.0% of the 3 patients with postoperative respiratory complications was less thas 70%. Moreover, computed tomographic analysis of the 3 patients showed severe emphysematous changes in the lungs. In conclusion, (1) The safety limit of resectability of lung cancer can be settled as over 700m l/m2 of the predicted postoperative FEV 1.0. (2) When severe emphysematous changes can not be detected by CT, the safety limit can be reduced under 700ml/m2 of predicted postoperative FEV 1.0.
