Less-invasive video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery speeds recovery

Washington DC: Research has shown that thoracoscopic lobectomy – video-badisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) – badociated with sealing the pulmonary artery with the help of an ultrasound machine reduces the risk of bleeding, postoperative complications and pain. The study was published in the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery.

"I sincerely hope that the results of our clinical trial will rebadure surgeons about the technical feasibility and safety of this operation and encourage them to adopt it." A large number of patients could benefit from it and would be on more footing. quickly, with less pain, "said Dr. Moishe Liberman, one of the researchers.

Unlike thoracotomy surgery, which involves a 25 cm incision in the patient's chest and rib incision, a VATS procedure requires small incisions. A miniature video camera is inserted through one of the incisions. In both types of surgeries, there is a risk of bleeding because the branches of the pulmonary artery are very thin, fragile and attached directly to the heart.

"Through this clinical trial conducted in Canadian, US and UK hospitals, we have shown that it is possible to safely seal pulmonary blood vessels with ultrasound sealing and effectively control bleeding during VATS procedure, "explained Dr. Liberman.

Currently, only 15% of lobectomies in the world are performed by VATS, mainly because of the real risks of severe bleeding or the perception of these risks by surgeons. Dr. Liberman's team recently completed its major international clinical trial launched in 2016.

The study evaluated the efficacy of this new technique in 150 patients in eight hospitals in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. 139 of them underwent lobectomy, while the remaining 11 underwent segmentectomy (removal of a small portion of the lung).

In total, 424 branches of the pulmonary artery were sealed during the study: 181 with the aid of surgical staplers, four with endoscopic forceps and 239 with the help of shear HARMONIC ACE (r) +7, designed by the company Ethicon. With its 3 mm jaw at the end, this high tech "gun" allows the surgeon to seal blood vessels by providing ultrasonic energy. According to the World Health Organization, lung cancer kills an estimated 1.69 million people worldwide each year.