Clinical innovations in minimally invasive surgery in Korea.

Over the past decade, the surgical approach to treating thoracic disease has shifted to minimally invasive surgery. Without compromising the outcomes, this approach may lead to fewer resections and fewer incisions for those resections. Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) is a recent but major advancement that has become an established approach for major thoracic surgery. More recently, robotic surgery has been gaining recognition because it can overcome the limitations of VATS and encourage a minimally invasive approach. Indications and applications of many other innovative surgical techniques and strategies to improve overall survival have expanded rapidly. In this article, we do not represent all thoracic surgeries occurring in Korea and do not reflect the large active centers in the country. However, as one of the most innovative and active Korean centers for thoracic surgery and research, we reviewed our procedures and programs for thoracic surgery.