2001 Volume 51 Issue 5 Pages 321-324
A transsternal bilateral thoracotomy (clamshell incision) was successfully performed in a 69-year-old male. The patient had bilateral metastatic lung cancer from a primary colon cancer. An inframammary incision was made while the patient was in a supine position. The chest was entered via the 4 th intercostal space ; right segments 3, 4 and 8, and the left upper lobe were resected. Postoperative pain was well controlled using an epidural block. This procedure provides a sufficient surgical field enabling manipulation throughout the entire thoracic space and the mediastinum using a single operative field. Thus transsternal bilateral thoracotomy is a useful procedure for one-stage surgeries in patients with bilateral lung tumors.
