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Surgical resection for lung cancer with infiltration of the thoracic aorta.

Ohta M, Hirabayasi H, Shiono H, Minami M, Maeda H, Takano H, Miyoshi S, Matsuda H

Department of General Thoracic Surgery, Osaka University, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan. ohta@surg1.med.osaka-u.ac.jp

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the results of a combined resection of the thoracic aorta and primary lung cancer. METHODS: Sixteen patients underwent thoracic aorta resection along with a left pneumonectomy (n = 6), left upper lobectomy (n = 9), or partial lung resection (n = 1), of whom 10 also received preoperative induction therapy. Cardiopulmonary bypass was used in 10 patients, and a passive shunt between the ascending aorta and the descending aorta was used in 4 patients. RESULTS: Six postoperative major complications occurred in 5 patients, including postoperative bleeding (n = 3), intraoperative bleeding (n = 1), chylothorax (n = 1), and respiratory failure (n = 1). The postoperative morbidity rate was 31%, and the mortality rate was 12.5% (2/16). Furthermore, 4 patients died of systemic tumor relapse, and 1 patient died of intrapleural recurrence. Nine patients were alive after a median follow-up of 54 months (range, 12-199 months). The median survival time of patients with postoperative pathologic N0 disease was 31 months, whereas it was 10 months for those with pathologic N2 or N3 disease. Five-year survivals were 70% for patients with N0 disease and 16.7% for patients with N2 or N3 disease ( P = .0070). CONCLUSIONS: Although pulmonary resection with the involved aorta might cause high surgical morbidity and mortality rates, encouraging long-term survivals were obtained in patients without mediastinal nodal involvement.

Published 11 April 2005 in J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg, 129(4): 804-8.
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