[Video-assisted thoracic surgery lobectomy for lung cancer: combination of less invasion and universality].

Video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) lobectomy provides a minimally invasive technique for treatment of lung cancer, but is still only performed in a few specialized centers around the world. Therefore in a hospital, where only one experienced thoracoscopic surgeon exists, a safe and less invasive surgery is required. From January 2001 to July 2008, we performed 316 VATS lobectomies, in which the special VATS of 163 cases were included. The procedure was based on a mini-thoracotomy with rib spreading under the condition of 2 skin incisions of 5 cm and 1 cm on axillar part. This method is probably less invasive than our former procedure. Coping with both universality and less invasion is requested in provincial hospitals.