1994 Volume 8 Issue 7 Pages 795-799
A 63-year-old male who had undergone left pneumonectomy for bronchogenic squamous cell carcinoma (p-T2N2M0. stage IIIA) was found to have a metastatic tumor in the right upper lobe three years after the initial operation. We performed partial lung excision, including the tumor, using video-assisted thoracoscopy. Although air leakage continued for seven days, he was eventually discharged on the 19th post operative day. Pulmonary function tests performed three months after the second operation revealed no further deterioration of function in the residual lung. Further metastasis or recurrence of the tumor have not occurred during a 17-month follow-up period. We suggest that a video-assisted thoracoscopic surgical procedure can be used to resect a pulmonary tumor in the contralateral lung after pneumonectomy.
