Abstract

A sleeve lobectomy is an appropriate operative procedure in patients with endobronchial neoplasms of low-grade malignancies in the proximal airways and for a small but significant number of patients with carcinoma. Here, we present eleven cases of sleeve lobectomy which were performed from 1984 to the August of 1991 in the Department of Thoracic Surgery of Seoul National University Hospital. The sex distribution was 6 males and 5 females in the age range from twenty to sixty seven, with an average of 44.9 years. The pathologic diagnoses were 7 cases of pulmonary malignancies: carcinoid in two, mucoepidermoid carcinoma in two, adenoid cystic carcinoma in one, adenocarcinoma in one, and squamous carcinoma in one. Other diagnoses were two cases of tuberculous bronchial strictures and two cases of benign tumors: one case of pesudolymphoma and one case of neurilemmoma. The procedures consisted of five right upper sleeve lobectomies [Fig. 1], four left upper sleeve lovectomies [Fig. 2], one left lower sleeve lobectomy[Fig. 3], and one right middle and lower lobetomy [Fig. 4]. All except one had a normal preoperative pulmonary function. The case which had a poor pulmonary function was a 66-year-old female adenocarcinoma patient. She seemed to be very intolerable to pneumonectomy [predicted FEV1=0.60L]. Therefore, she had a right sleeve upper lobectomy and experienced smooth postoperative course without any pulmonary problems. All cases had good postoperative results and no postoperative complications.

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