[Perspective of Uniportal Video-assisted Thoracic Surgery for Early Lung Cancer in Japan].

Uniportal video-assisted thoracic surgery (U-VATS) has become prevalent among thoracic surgeon in a part of countries including Japan. U-VATS and robotic-assisted thoracoscopic surgery( RATS) are 2 types of minimally invasive surgical techniques. Uniportal procedures are feasible although they can be technically challenging. RATS is superior to U-VATS in terms of the ability to perform procedures that require fine motor skills and to maintain wide visual fields during the procedure;however, it is not as feasible and more costly compared with U-VATS. U-VATS is also considered safer as it is easier than RATS to be converted to thoracotomy when needed. Thus, suitable procedures should be selected to meet the needs of specific cases. In the present study, we review the treatment outcomes of U-VATS for anatomical lung resection that were performed at our institution for patients with early-stage lung cancer.