Lobectomy with sleeve resection of the bronchus for malignant disease of the lung and the influence of the suture material used for the bronchial repair.

A series of 100 consecutive cases of lobectomy combined with sleeve resection of the bronchus for malignant disease of the lung is presented. In 13 of these cases a sleeve resection of the appropriate pulmonary artery was also carried out. An operative mortality of 8% was encountered and a crude 5-year survival of 40% was achieved. A comparison of absorbable and non-absorbable suture materials for the bronchial anastomosis indicated that the absorbable suture, Polyglycolic Acid (Dexon), minimized the morbidity from complications at the bronchial anastomosis.