Prognostic analysis of the bronchoplastic and broncho-arterioplastic lobectomy of non-small cell lung cancers—10-year experiences of 161 patients

For central-type non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs), bronchoplasty are occasionally necessary to avoid pneumonectomy and spare lung functions. Technically, there are three types of bronchoplastic procedures: sleeve lobectomy, wedge bronchoplasty and flap bronchoplasty (1). Those different techniques can be utilized according to the scope of resection and reconstruction, which is based on the site and extent of tumor. Wedge bronchoplasty and flap bronchoplasty refers to condition in which the radial continuity of the bronchus is partly preserved and subsequent reconstruction does not involve the entire circumference. For sleeve reconstruction, it means that the conduit is completely transected and followed by end-to-end anastomosis. Moreover, double sleeve lobectomy is defined when both the bronchus and the pulmonary artery (PA) undergo sleeve resections and reconstructions (2)