ISSN : 1301-5680
e-ISSN : 2149-8156
Turkish Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery     
Quality of life assessment six months after lobectomy for lung cancer: video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery versus thoracotomy
Volkan Baysungur1, Çağatay Tezel1, Erdal Okur1, Recep Demirhan2, Burcu Kutlu3, Semih Halezeroğlu1
1Departments of Thoracic Surgery, Süreyyapaşa Chest Diseases and Thoracic Surgery Hospital, İstanbul
2Departments of Thoracic Surgery, Kartal Dr. Lütfi Kırdar Training and Research Hospital, İstanbul
3Departments of Psychology, Süreyyapaşa Chest Diseases and Thoracic Surgery Hospital, İstanbul
DOI : 10.5606/tgkdc.dergisi.2011.014
Background: This study aims to assess the quality of life scores of patients who had undergone lobectomy by videoassisted thoracoscopic surgery.

Methods: Both the “Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36 (SF-36) Health Survey” and “European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Questionnaire-C30” with “lung cancer specific module LC-13”, the subtype of EORTC developed for lung cancer, were used to assess the health-related quality of life. Two groups were created on a cross-sectional basis. The questionnaires were performed in both groups at the outpatient clinic follow-up six months after the surgery. Group 1 consisted of patients (n=18) with stage 1 nonsmall- cell lung carcinoma who had undergone lobectomy by video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery, while group 2 consisted of patients (n=20) at the same stage who had undergone lobectomy via thoracotomy.

Results: There were no significant differences between the two groups in the preoperative patient characteristics. No local recurrence or distant metastasis was observed in any of the patients during the assessments who has completed the survey. Patients in group 1 had higher scores in physical functioning and emotional role in SF-36 questionnaire. Moreover, the results for chest pain, arm/shoulder pain and peripheral neuropathy scores were better preserved in the video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy group.

Conclusion: This study shows that the patients who have undergone lobectomy by video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery for non-small-cell lung carcinoma have better preserved quality of life scores than thoracotomy patients six months after the surgery with reduced postoperative pain in chest and peripheral neuropathy.

Keywords : Lobectomy; lung cancer surgery; quality of life; toracotomy; video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery
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