Advanced lung cancer invading the left atrium wall treated with pneumonectomy and combined resection of the left atrium using stapling devices: report of two cases.

In chest surgery, stapling devices are primarily used to close bronchi. However, they are also used for dissection and suturing between lung lobes, resection and plication of lung tissue (including bullae), combined resection of the superior vena cava, closure of the pulmonary great vessels, closure of the left atrium following combined resection of the left atrium, and so on. We recently treated two cases of advanced lung cancer, which had invaded the left atrial wall, with pneumonectomy and combined resection of the left atrium using stapling devices, and obtained favorable results. For combined resection of the left atrium, it is safer to use stapling devices than vascular clamps, since the latter involve the risk of dislocation during use. Furthermore, since stapling devices require no margin for suturing, the left atrium can be resected at a point sufficiently distant from the cancer, thus allowing for highly radical resection. Stapling devices are also useful because they can be manipulated even within narrow operative fields. When dealing with lung cancer requiring combined resection of the left atrium, pneumonectomy is needed in most cases. When performing surgery for these cases, it is essential to first close and divide the bronchi and pulmonary arteries and veins as far as possible so that adequate adherence around the left atrium can be developed and the entire lung can be lifted up, followed by resection of the left atrium with a stapling device applied to the left atrium without any tension. (Ann Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2004; 10: 113‐7)