Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) right upper lobectomy and systematic lymph node dissection for lung cancer.

Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) represents a new trend in the development of minimally invasive thoracic surgery. When applied in lung cancer surgeries, VATS can be used for both pulmonary lobectomy and regional lymph node dissection. Currently the main concerns are focused on the completeness of lymph node dissection for lung cancer and the safety of surgery. The lymph node dissection includes two parts: (I) dissection of interlobar and hilar lymph nodes; and (II) dissection of mediastinal lymph nodes. The demonstrated surgical procedures are featured by: (I) the interlobar and hilar lymph nodes are not removed separately; rathr, they are taken out en bloc with the pulmonary lobes during the surgery; and (II) systematic lymph node dissection, instead of systematic sampling, is applied for the removal of mediastinal lymph nodes. Also, during the fully anatomical resection, each blood vessel and bronchus underwent anatomical dissociation, indicating that this surgery is safe.