Bronchoplasty at the level of the segmental bronchus

The efficacy of anastomosis including the segmental bronchus performed in Hyogo Medical Center was reviewed. There were 18 patients with anastomosis of segmental bronchi (group 1), 14 patients with anastomosis between the upper, lingular, or basal segmental bronchus and main bronchus, avoiding pneumonectomy (group 2), and a miscellaneous group (group 3). Patients in group 1 had early-stage lung cancer or low-grade malignant tumors, whereas those in group 2 had advanced hilar tumors. Though technical requirements for these operations are higher than for typical bronchoplasty, they provide better quality of life postoperatively and reasonably good outcomes without increasing morbidity. The specialist in general thoracic surgery must make every effort to avoid excessively large resection of lung tissue such as lobectomy or pneumonectomy.