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Objective: We examined cases in which delirium developed after thoracic surgery under general anesthesia at our hospital to determine the predictive factors for postoperative delirium, as well as the perioperative findings in cases showing postoperative delirium., Methods: This retrospective study included 1674 patients who underwent surgery under general anesthesia at our hospital between 2012 and 2022, A psychiatrist diagnosed postoperative delirium using the Confusion Assessment Method., Results: There were 99 (5.9%) patients with postoperative delirium in our study, including 85 (86%) men, of whom 31 (31%) had a history of cerebrovascular disease. The incidence of postoperative delirium in patients aged > 80 years was 20% (36/182). The postoperative delirium group showed significantly longer hospital stays and more frequent postoperative complications than the group without postoperative delirium. In univariate analysis, age ≥ 80 years, male sex, history of cerebrovascular disease, hypertension, history of atrial fibrillation, and history of smoking were identified as significant factors, while multivariate analysis identified age ≥ 80 years, male sex, history of cerebrovascular disease, hypertension, and history of smoking as significant factors (odds ratios = 5.15, 2.04, 3.10, 1.67, and 2.36, respectively). In the 169 cases with none of these five factors, the postoperative delirium risk was 0% (0/169)., Conclusions: In patients undergoing thoracic surgery, predictive factors for postoperative delirium include age ≥ 80 years, male sex, history of cerebrovascular disease, hypertension, and smoking history. The findings also indicate that patients with these risk factors may require psychiatric consultation before surgery., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to The Japanese Association for Thoracic Surgery.)

Objectives: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with pleural dissemination are generally contraindicated for surgery. This study aimed to investigate the survival benefits of primary tumor resection for NSCLC patients with unexpectedly detected pleural disseminated nodules during thoracotomy in the era of targeted therapy., Methods: Of the 4984 patients with NSCLC who underwent surgery without induction therapy between 2000 and 2021, we retrospectively evaluated 90 (1.8%) patients with unexpectedly detected pleural disseminated nodule. Survival analyses were performed with Kaplan-Meier methods and Cox proportional hazards regression., Results: Among the evaluated patients, 58 were male, the median age was 67, and 77 (86%) were diagnosed with adenocarcinoma. Exploratory thoracotomy was performed in 21 (23%), and primary tumor resection was performed in 69 (77%) patients, including pneumonectomy in four, lobectomy in 39, and sublobar resection in 26. Epidermal growth factor receptor gene mutation and anaplastic lymphoma kinase rearrangement were detected in 33 (37%) and 4 (4%) cases, respectively. Among them, 31 patients received targeted therapy. The overall survival (OS) was not significantly different between patients with primary tumor resection and exploratory thoracotomy (5-year OS rate: 30.2% vs. 27.8%, p = 0.81). Multivariable analysis revealed that sex (p = 0.02) and targeted therapy (p < 0.01) were independent prognostic factors for OS. Survival outcomes in patients who received targeted therapy were significantly better regardless of primary tumor resection., Conclusions: Primary tumor resection might not affect the survival in NSCLC patients with unexpectedly detected pleural disseminated nodules in the era of targeted therapy., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to The Japanese Association for Thoracic Surgery.)

A major challenge in treating superior sulcus tumors is achieving complete surgical resection because of technical difficulties associated with the anatomical structures and approaches to the thorax. Our technique combines posterior minimally invasive thoracotomy with robot-assisted right upper lobectomy, thereby reducing the invasiveness of the surgical approach and postoperative complications, including wound pain. In the presented case, the tumor was located on the apical right upper lobe, directly invading the apical thoracic wall structures. Hybrid robotic and minimally invasive thoracotomy with thoracic wall resection was performed. The postoperative course was uneventful. The patient discharged from our hospital with minimal wound pain., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to The Japanese Association for Thoracic Surgery.)

Background: The incidence of acute exacerbation (AE) 31 days after surgery in lung cancer (LC) patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) has not yet been elucidated. This study aimed to identify the AE incidence rate, mortality rate, and risk factors in patients with late-stage LC with ILD., Methods: We conducted a retrospective study on 410 patients with ILD on preoperative computed tomography among 3939 patients with LC who underwent their first surgery between August 2008 and July 2019. We divided the patients into Group A (early AE; 18cases), Group B (late AE; 40 cases), and Group C (no AE; 352 cases)., Results: There were no significant differences in the clinical background between Groups A and B. The AE incidence rates were 0.56 case per person-years at ≤ 30 days, 0.24 at 90 days, 0.14 at 180 days, 0.10 at 1 year, 0.078 at 2 years, 0.086 at 3 years, 0.064 at 4 years, and 0.059 at 5 years after surgery. The mortality rates of the first AE were 10/18 (56%), 3/5 (60%), 7/13 (54%), and 7/22 (32%) at onset ≤ 30 days, 31-90 days, 91-365 days, and 366-1825 days after surgery, respectively. Multivariate Cox proportional analysis showed that adjuvant chemotherapy and a usual IP (UIP) pattern on CT + KL-6 ≥ 1000 (hazard ratio 3.647, 2.631) were predictors of late AEs., Conclusions: Patients with adjuvant chemotherapy and a usual IP (UIP) pattern on CT + KL-6 ≥ 1000 are likely to develop later AEs. Therefore, early intervention with antifibrotic therapy is recommended., (© 2021. The Japanese Association for Thoracic Surgery.)

Objective: Prolonged air leakage (PAL) is the most common postoperative complication after segmentectomy and chemical pleurodesis (CP) is one of the common procedures for managing PAL. However, the impact of CP on postoperative pulmonary function remains unclear., Methods: We performed a propensity score matching analysis for postoperative pulmonary function in lung cancer patients who underwent segmentectomy. The percentage of postoperative functional change of forced vital capacity (δFVC) and forced expiratory volume in 1 s (δFEV 1.0 ) at postoperative 6 and 12 months were compared between patients who were managed for PAL by CP (CP group, n = 21) and those who did not receive CP (non-CP, n = 21). The predicted δFVC and δFEV 1.0 after segmentectomy and lobectomy were also assessed to evaluate the loss of preserved lung function., Results: δFVC and δFEV 1.0 in the CP group were confirmed by a significantly larger decline in postoperative pulmonary function than that seen in the non-CP group at postoperative 6 and 12 months (δFVC at 6 months, - 21.1% versus - 5.1%, - 20.8% versus - 6.8% at 12 months, δFEV 1.0 at 6 months, - 19.1% versus - 7.2%, - 19.6% versus - 9.7%, at 12 months, p < 0.05 respectively). Both δFVC and δFEV 1.0 in the CP group were significantly lower than those predicted after segmentectomy (p < 0.01). They were not statistically different from the values predicted if lobectomy was performed., Conclusions: CP after segmentectomy caused the same amount of loss in pulmonary function that was predicted if lobectomy was performed. The benefit of segmentectomy compared to lobectomy for preservation of pulmonary function is impaired by CP.

Objectives: Acute exacerbation of interstitial pneumonia (AE-IP) is the top cause of 30-day mortality in surgery for lung cancer patients. The general treatment for AE-IP is corticosteroid; however, there are some disadvantages of corticosteroid use after surgery. This study was conducted to report the clinical course of AE-IP after surgery and evaluate the effect of corticosteroid use., Methods: This retrospective study was performed on 337 patients with interstitial pneumonia who underwent surgical resection for lung cancer at our institute between 2009 and 2018. AE-IP were observed in 14 patients (4.2%) and their management and clinical outcome were investigated., Results: All patients received methylprednisolone pulse therapy. Six patients (42.9%) became convalescent after pulse therapy and eight (57.1%) died within 90 days after surgery due to lack of therapeutic efficacy. Oxygenation and ground-glass opacities of the survivors improved within 3 days after starting pulse therapy. Patients who responded to the first pulse also responded to the second pulse. Four patients developed complications including two with bronchopulmonary fistulas that may be related to steroid treatment. Even if the corticosteroid was effective, all AE-IP patients died within 1 year after surgery., Conclusions: Corticosteroid therapy is effective for AE-IP after surgery; however, it may lead to severe complications after surgery.

Objectives: The rate of lung resection in patients on hemodialysis (HD) is increasing with the increasing number of HD. However, studies assessing lung resection in HD are limited. The study aimed to investigate the perioperative management and postoperative complications of lung resection in HD patients., Methods: Between 2007 and 2019, of the 4989 patients underwent lung resection, 43 patients had been receiving HD. We compared the characteristics of a Clavien-Dindo classification grade ≥ 2 group against grade ≤ 1 group. Predictive factors of complications were analyzed by logistic regression analysis., Results: Thirty-three patients were men (median age: 69 years). Thirty-eight patients had lung cancer. The reason for HD was diabetic nephropathy in 19 patients, nephrosclerosis in 10, and miscellaneous in 14. The median duration of HD before surgery was 64.6 months. The type of lung resection was lobectomy in 24, segmentectomy in 10, and partial resection in 9 patients. Bronchial calcification was detected in 16 (37%). Reinforcement at the stump was performed in 9 lobectomies, of which 6 involved bronchial calcification. Postoperative complications were detected in 21 (49%), including grade ≥ 2 complications in 14 (33%). Multivariate analysis revealed that pack-year smoking ≥ 10 (p = 0.01) and operation time ≥ 140 min (p = 0.02) were predictors of grade ≥ 2 morbidity., Conclusions: Heavy smoking and longer operative time may result in postoperative complication requiring therapeutic intervention. The frequency of bronchial calcification is relatively high in HD patients, and reinforcement of the calcified bronchial stump should be considered during lobectomy.

Objective: Visceral pleural invasion (VPI) indicates poor prognosis in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and is defined as a T2 descriptor for T1-sized tumor. However, whether its prognostic impact differs between pure-solid and part-solid tumors as preoperative diagnostic imaging is controversial. We aimed to elucidate the prognostic difference of VPI in cT1-sized NSCLC according to radiological tumor type (pure-solid or part-solid)., Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 498 NSCLC patients who underwent complete anatomical lung resection between 2009 and 2014. Patients with node-negative, cT1-sized (consolidation size, ≤ 3 cm) NSCLCs were included. VPI included pathological PL1 and PL2. The prognostic impact of VPI according to radiological tumor type was assessed using multivariate Cox regression analyses., Results: We evaluated 227 pure-solid and 271 part-solid tumors; median follow-up period was 57 months. VPI was found in 40 (17.6%) and 15 (5.5%) patients with pure-solid and part-solid tumors, respectively (p < 0.001). In pure-solid group, VPI patients showed significantly poorer overall survival (OS) rates than non-VPI patients (p = 0.003). In part-solid group, OS rates did not differ significantly according to VPI (p = 0.770). Multivariate analysis revealed that the adjusted hazard ratio (95% confidence interval) for poor OS was 2.129 (1.048-4.132, p = 0.037) for pure-solid tumors with VPI compared to pure-solid tumors without VPI, and 0.925 (0.050-4.920, p = 0.941) for part-solid tumors with VPI compared to part-solid tumors without VPI., Conclusions: VPI had a negative prognostic impact on cT1-sized pure-solid tumors but not on part-solid tumors. Upstaging of the T-category by VPI in cT1-sized NSCLCs may be considered for pure-solid tumors.

Objective: Regarding intraoperative complications and troubles during robot-assisted thoracic surgery, few data are available especially in Japan. This study was aimed to elucidate intraoperative complications and troubles in robotic anatomical lung resection, and to present managements and outcomes of those., Methods: This was a retrospective singe-institutional study. The first 192 consecutive patients who underwent robot-assisted anatomical lung resection between January 2017 and August 2019 were evaluated. We examined the frequency, management and outcomes of intraoperative complications and troubles., Results: Of the 192 eligible patients who underwent robotic anatomical lung resection, lobectomy was performed for 156 (81.2%), and segmentectomy for 36 (18.8%). Three (1.5%) required conversion to open thoracotomy. Of these, bleeding from the pulmonary artery was the cause in two patients (1.0%) and inflammatory adhesion of hilar lymph nodes in 1 (0.5%). Other intraoperative complications and troubles included bronchial injuries in 3 patients (1.5%), lung injury by assistant in one patient (0.5%) and horizontal movement limitation of da Vinci arm in one patient (0.5%). Regarding bronchial injuries, two of three were stump injuries related to stapling, the remaining was to dissection of the bronchial tissues. All bronchial repairs were completed without conversion, and postoperative complications related to bronchial injury were not observed. The 30-day and 90-day mortality rates were both 0%., Conclusions: The frequency of intraoperative complications and troubles in robot-assisted thoracic surgery was low in our first series. All conversions were related to bleeding and impending bleeding, and no conversion was required for bronchial injury.

Objective: With the increase in lung cancer patients over 80 years of age, lobectomy with mediastinal lymph node dissection is often performed in patients in a good general condition. However, the age limit for this procedure has not yet been determined. In this study, we examined the safety, therapeutic results, and prognosis of surgical treatment for lung cancer patients over 85 years of age., Methods: Among the 4446 lung cancer patients who underwent surgery at our hospital from January 1997 to March 2019, we assessed 320 patients (7.2%, Group A, aged 80-84 years) and 74 patients (1.7%, Group B, aged over 85 years)., Results: The median age of the patients in Group B was 86 years. Compared to Group A, Group B had significantly more patients with a history of ischemic heart disease, lower pack-year smoking, and lobectomy and lobectomy less resection (reduced surgery), and a shorter operation time (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of postoperative complications. There was no significant difference in survival rate and prognosis between the two groups, and the 2-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates were 79.0%, 74.7%, and 53.6%, respectively, in Group B. In Group B sex (female) and early stage of cancer were independent prognostic factors of non-small cell lung cancer (stage I)., Conclusions: In a limited number of patients, surgical resection in patients aged over 85 years was safely performed, and the survival of these patients was comparable to those aged 80-84 years.

Objective: Idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (IIPs) are predominantly encountered in the lower lobe, and frequently with concomitant emphysema that is predominantly in the upper lobe. However, the impact of the resection site on surgical outcomes of lung cancer with IIPs remains unclear. This study was conducted to evaluate the surgical outcome between patients undergoing upper or lower lobe resection., Methods: This retrospective study was performed on 1972 patients who underwent surgical resection for lung cancer at our institute between 2009 and 2018. Review of CT findings revealed that 337 (14.1%) patients had IIPs. Morbidity, mortality, and postoperative pulmonary function test (PFT) were compared between patients who underwent upper or lower lobectomy and stratified by presence or absence of emphysema (CPFE and non-CPFE)., Results: Surgical mortality and morbidity were not statistically different between the two groups regardless of CPFE. The difference between actual and predicted postoperative PFTs was statistically larger in the upper lobectomy compared to the lower lobectomy among the non-CPFE patients. (FVC: p = 0.019, FEV 1.0 : p = 0.001, %DLCO: p = 0.090) CONCLUSIONS: Site of the resected lobe in lung cancer is not a prognostic factor of surgical mortality and morbidity in patients with IIPs. However, the impact of upper lobectomy on postoperative respiratory function reduction is larger than lower lobectomy in non-CPFE patients.

Cardiac herniation is a complication that occurs after intrapericardial pneumonectomy. It is life-threatening unless promptly diagnosed and surgery performed. We report a case of cardiac herniation after right intrapericardial pneumonectomy following radiotherapy for lung cancer. The patient developed cardiac herniation with sudden hypotension following a switch to the spine position. An immediate switch to the lateral decubitus position improved the cardiocirculatory dynamics, and surgical patch closure was performed. The circulation dynamics was unstable for several hours after surgery with elevated enzyme levels, which improved 2 days later. Immediate thoracotomy before irreversible myocardial damage resulted in a successful outcome. The risk of cardiac herniation should always be considered after intrapericardial pneumonectomy.

Objectives: We encounter patients with mediastinal tumors invading the left innominate vein (LIV), and there is no evidence confirming whether the LIV should simply be ligated or reconstructed. The need for postoperative anticoagulant therapy after ligation of LIV is also controversial., Methods: 3209 patients with thoracic malignant tumors underwent surgical resection between 1994 and 2014 in our institute. Nineteen (0.6%) patients had mediastinal malignant tumors invading the LIV and underwent LIV resection. Of these patients, only 3 underwent reconstruction of LIV. We did not start anticoagulant therapy routinely after resection of LIV. The patients were divided into 2 groups: group A showed at least 50% patency of LIV by preoperative contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) and group B showed less than 50%. We investigated the safety of resecting LIV and the need for postoperative anticoagulant therapy., Results: The 30-day and 90-day mortalities were zero in both groups. Thrombosis of the LIV stump and increased edema in the left neck and upper limb were observed in 2 (10.5%) patients only in group A. After initiating the anticoagulant therapy, the embolisms disappeared and weaning the patients off warfarin could be done in less than 1 year., Conclusions: In this study, there was no case of mortality or severe morbidity among the patients with LIV resection. Moreover, there was no need to initiate routine anticoagulant therapy after the LIV division as the frequency of embolism in the LIV stump was low and was expected to disappear prior to starting anticoagulant therapy.

Objective: We aimed to analyze the risk factors of postoperative cerebral infarction (CI) and thrombus formation in the left upper pulmonary vein (PV) stump after lobectomy., Methods: We retrospectively investigated 1670 patients who underwent lobectomy or more intervention, and analyzed the risk factors of postoperative CI. Furthermore, postoperative contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CE-CT) were reviewed in patients who underwent left upper lobectomy (LUL), and risk factors of the thrombus formation in the left upper PV stump were evaluated. Chi-square test or unpaired t test was used to compare the factors., Results: Cerebral infarction was observed in 10 (0.60%) patients, being more significant in patients with left side lesions (90%) who underwent LUL (50%). Eighty percent of the CI cases occurred by day 4 postoperative. CI was found in 1.47% after LUL. Among 339 patients who underwent LUL, CE-CT was performed in 137 (40%) postoperatively. Among them, left upper PV stump thrombus was found in 16 (11.7%), which was statistically significant in higher age and p stage II or more disease (= 0.003, 0.040). In contrast, preoperative histories including anticoagulant administration, atrial fibrillation, diabetes mellitus, several surgical procedures or intraoperative factors were not associated statistically with thrombus formation., Conclusion: Postoperative CI occurred in the very early-phase after lobectomy, and the incidence was significantly higher in patients undergoing LUL. Because left upper PV stump thrombus was frequently found retrospectively, a prospective observation study would be required to investigate the real incidence of PV stump thrombus after lobectomy.

Purpose: We evaluated the feasibility of surgery for pulmonary aspergilloma., Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 35 surgical patients with pulmonary aspergilloma. The clinical characteristics and perioperative surgical morbidity were compared based on the operative modes. Preoperative artery embolization (PAE) was selectively performed to reduce the expected surgical stress caused by intraoperative blood loss., Results: The cohort comprised 19 males and 16 females with a mean age of 56 years. Lobectomy was performed in 22 patients, segmentectomy in 5, wedge resection in 4, and palliative surgery in 4. Postoperative morbidities were found in 12 (34%) patients, however, life-threatening complications or resurgence of the infection after surgery never occurred. PAE was performed in 9 (26%). Intrathoracic adhesions were significantly observed in patients who underwent PAE (p = 0.003), however, operative time and intraoperative blood loss were not significantly different between the patients with and without PAE (operative time, 202 vs. 164 min, p = 0.143: blood loss, 173 vs. 195 ml, p = 0.871). There was no 30-day mortality at a median follow-up period of 41.5 months., Conclusions: Surgical results for pulmonary aspergilloma were feasible and the postoperative morbidities were acceptable. PAE was considered effective in lessening surgical stress.

Objective: The aim of this study was to elucidate the characteristics and predictors of postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) from the standpoint of surgical mode., Methods: Retrospective analysis was carried out on 607 patients who underwent lobectomy or segmentectomy for clinical stage IA lung cancer. We investigated the clinical factors to determine the predictors of the development of POAF., Results: Of the 607 patients, 443 underwent lobectomy, and 164 underwent segmentectomy. POAF developed in 37 patients. Of these, 34 (7.7%) were in the lobectomy group, and 3 (1.8%) in the segmentectomy group. In the univariate analysis for predictors of POAF, age (p < 0.01), history of ischemic heart disease (p = 0.03), FEV1.0% (p < 0.01) and surgical mode (p = 0.01) showed significant differences between the groups. The multivariate analysis revealed that increasing age (p < 0.01, HR 1.059, CI 1.015-1.106), surgical mode (p = 0.02, HR 5.734, CI 1.350-24.361) and FEV1.0% < 70% (p = 0.03, HR 2.182, CI 1.067-4.461) were independent predictors of POAF., Conclusion: POAF was significantly less following segmentectomy compared with lobectomy.

In the original publication of this article, the Table 1 was published incorrectly with missing data.

Objectives: Our study aim was to evaluate oncological outcomes after compromised sublobar resection for high-risk clinical-stage IA radiologically solid non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and to investigate potential clinical predictors of improved survival., Methods: Among 1109 resected clinical-stage IA NSCLC from 2008 to 2013, 115 (10 %) patients who presented radiologically solid, i.e., invasive appearances on thin-section computed tomography (CT) and were poor candidates for lobectomy underwent compromised sublobar resection. Radiologically solid lung cancer was defined as 0.5 ≤ consolidation/tumor ratio based on thin-section CT scan., Results: The high-risk cohorts consisted of 65 men and 50 women, with an average age of 71.2 years. The 3-year overall survival (OS) and relapse-free survival were 82.2 and 72.2 % with 34 months of mean follow-up period. A multivariate analysis identified tumor size and carcinoembryonic antigen as significant, consolidation status as marginally significant clinical predictors of survival (p = 0.0141, 0.0426, 0.0623). When the patients were divided based on the number of negative predictors, the 3-year OS of the patients who met neither or one of these negative predictors (n = 64) was 98.4 % despite their anticipated risks, while that of the patients with 2 negative predictors was 71.5 % (n = 38), and the patients who met all of the poor conditions (n = 13) was 37.1 % even in clinical-stage IA disease (p < 0.0001)., Conclusions: Among clinical-stage IA radiologically solid NSCLC patients who are not lobectomy candidates due to the anticipated risk, sublobar resection could provide acceptable oncological outcomes if patients show positive clinical predictors to improve their survival.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the prognosis of resected lung cancer patients with extremely high carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels. Several reports have indicated that increased preoperative serum CEA levels are associated with a dismal outcome after surgery, whereas others have reported long-term survival among patients with extremely high preoperative CEA levels. We investigated whether preoperative serum CEA levels, especially extremely high levels, were related to the prognosis of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after surgery., Methods: From September 1996 to January 2008, a total of 649 patients underwent surgical treatment for NSCLC at Juntendo University Hospital. We conducted a retrospective review to investigate the prognostic significance of the preoperative CEA level in these patients. We also investigated the prognosis of patients with an extremely high preoperative CEA level (>30 ng/ml)., Results: The 5-year survival rates were 78.4% and 63.0% for patients with normal and abnormal preoperative CEA levels, respectively. The survival rate was significantly worse for patients with abnormal preoperative CEA levels (P = 0.0002). In all, 28 patients had preoperative CEA levels >30 ng/ml. Although most of these patients showed a poor prognosis, 7 (25.0%) were longterm survivors (>4 years)., Conclusion: An abnormal preoperative CEA level suggests a poor prognosis for patients with NSCLC after surgery. Nevertheless, a few patients with an extremely high preoperative CEA level had long-term survival. Even if the preoperative CEA is extremely high, we perform a careful survey for distant or intrathoracic metastases and should not overlook operable cases.