Attributes contributing to superior outcomes in the surgical management of early-stage lung cancer and examples of implementing improvement.

Attributes contributing to superior clinical outcomes include high clinical volumes, specialized care, and multidisciplinary care. Using a quality template as the framework for review, the literature surrounding these relative to lung cancer surgery and operative mortality and morbidity is examined. Costs of lung cancer surgery operative mortality or complications are discussed. Finally, examples of quantifying and implementing high-quality medical care, especially regarding lung cancer, are reviewed.