The arterial-ligation-alone method for identifying the intersegmental plane during thoracoscopic anatomic segmentectomy

Globally, lung cancer has the highest morbidity and mortality among malignancies (1), and thus the early diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer are of utmost importance. With the popularization of low-dose computed tomography (LDCT), it is easier to diagnose early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with the image manifestations of ground-glass nodules (GGNs) (2). Stemming from the prevalence of precision medicine, many retrospective studies have been conducted and show that segmentectomy produces the same oncological outcomes as lobectomy in early-stage NSCLC with the image manifestation of GGNs (3,4). Thoracoscopic anatomic segmentectomy is thus not only an alternative choice for lung cancer with poor cardiopulmonary reserve or other advanced complications, but can also be a radical surgery for T1a and selected T1b tumors (5,6)