Feasibility and safety of pedicled autologous bronchial flap reconstruction airway instead of sleeve lobectomy in partial lung cancer surgery

Zheng Zhang; Xiaonu Peng; Bo Ai; Kuo Li; Yang Li; Fernando C Abrão; Hitoshi Igai; Ricardo Mingarini Terra; Han Xiao; Quanfu Huang; Yongde Liao

doi:10.21037/tlcr-22-347

Feasibility and safety of pedicled autologous bronchial flap reconstruction airway instead of sleeve lobectomy in partial lung cancer surgery

Transl Lung Cancer Res. 2022 Jun;11(6):1019-1026. doi: 10.21037/tlcr-22-347.

Authors

Zheng Zhang^{1

2}, Xiaonu Peng², Bo Ai³, Kuo Li¹, Yang Li⁴, Fernando C Abrão⁵, Hitoshi Igai⁶, Ricardo Mingarini Terra⁷, Han Xiao¹, Quanfu Huang¹, Yongde Liao¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Thoracic Surgery, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
² Department of Thoracic Surgery, The Affiliated Yantai Yuhuangding Hospital of Qingdao University, Yantai, China.
³ Department of Thoracic Surgery, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
⁴ Department of Emergency, Xiangyang Central Hospital, Xiangyang, China.
⁵ Thoracic Surgery Department, Hospital Alemão Oswaldo Cruz, São Paulo, Brazil.
⁶ Department of General Thoracic Surgery, Japanese Red Cross Maebashi Hospital, Maebashi, Gunma, Japan.
⁷ Thoracic Surgery Division, Heart Institute (InCor) of the Hospital das Clínicas, Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.

Abstract

Background: A sleeve lobectomy is a routine operation in thoracic surgery. However, sleeve lobectomy is not only a complex operation, but also has the risk of anastomotic leakage and stenosis. We used bronchial flap to reconstruct the airway instead of sleeve lobectomy. The above disadvantages can be avoided because the bronchial flap reconstruction airway has no anastomosis. This technique has not previously been reported. This paper discusses the feasibility and safety of reconstructing the bronchus with the pedicle autogenous bronchus flap in lung cancer surgery.

Methods: During the operation, when the tumor tissue had invaded ≤1/3 of the circumference of the lobar bronchus, the bronchus wall was removed at least 5 mm away from the tumor, but the contralateral healthy bronchus wall was preserved. The healthy bronchial wall was made into a "tongue-shaped" pedicled autogenous bronchial flap, approximately the size of the bronchial defect, and the flap was turned up or down to repair the root defect of the bronchus. The patients were examined every 3 months after surgery by chest computed tomography (CT) to observe the re-expansion of lung and reconstruction of the bronchus, and analyze the incidence of bronchus stenosis and local recurrence.

Results: The lobar bronchus was successfully reconstructed with the pedicled autologous bronchial flap in 45 patients; 36 males and 9 females with an average age of 56.5 years. The diameters of the tumors ranged from 3-12 cm. The pathological examination results showed that the margin of bronchus was negative. There was no perioperative death or bronchopleural fistula. The bronchoscopy showed that the reconstructed bronchus healed well, and no atelectasis or bronchostenosis was found in the follow-up period.

Conclusions: This is the first report on the application of the pedicled autogenous bronchial flap being used to reconstruct the airway instead of a sleeve lobectomy in lung cancer surgery. In the radical resection of lung cancer, the operation can simplify the operation process, and reduce the risk of anastomotic leakage or stenosis. The operation is safe and feasible, and should be more widely used.

Keywords: Bronchial flap; lung cancer; sleeve lobectomy.