Thoracoscopic lobectomy through a single incision.

Over the past two decades, video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) has revolutionized the way thoracic surgeons diagnose and treat lung diseases. The major advance in VATS procedures is related to the major pulmonary resections. The optimal VATS technique for lobectomy in lung cancer has not been well defined yet. Most of the authors describe the VATS approach to lobectomy via three to four incisions, but the surgery can be performed by only one incision with similar outcomes. This single incision is the same as we normally use for VATS lobectomies performed by double- or triple-port technique, with no rib spreading. As our experience with VATS lobectomy has grown, we have gradually improved the technique for a less-invasive approach. Consequently, the greater the experience we gained, the more complex the cases we performed were, thus expanding the indications for single-incision thoracoscopic lobectomy.