Surgical techniques in the diagnosis of pulmonary disease.

In conclusion, the previously described techniques have been found useful, alone or in combination, for the accurate assessment of the patient with pulmonary disease. These techniques may be used either to establish a diagnosis or to determine the extent of disease in order to plan further operative or nonoperative treatment. Future developments in tumor biology regarding radioactive labeling of tumor-specific compounds may lead to a re-evaluation of the need for these invasive diagnostic procedures. Until this occurs, judicious use of these surgical procedures is necessary for the accurate diagnosis of pulmonary disease.