Background: To assess the role of operation in the management of bronchiectasis, 162 patients with bronchiectasis were reviewed in the modern era of antibiotic therapy.

Methods: One-hundred-eighteen patients were treated surgically (Group A), and 28 nonoperatively (Group B). Both two groups were similar by taking the features of age, involved segment and mean follow up, into consideration.

Results: The indication for operation was failure of medical therapy (51.7%), hemoptysis (20.3%) and failure of growth (14.4%). The disease was bilateral in17.8% of group A and in 21.4% of group B. Lower lobes basal segments were involved most frequently (39% versus 32.1%). The mean number of the involved segments was 4.8 versus 4.7. Lobectomy was performed in 73.7%, pneumonectomy in 9.3 % and wedge-segmentectomy in 8.4% of surgical group. Complete resection was achieved in 95% of uniletaral bronchiectasis and in 28.5 % of bilateral bronchiectasis. Morbidity was 21.2% and mortality was 3.4%. Mean postoperative hospital stay in group A was less than in group B (8.6 vs. 13.2 days). The patients involving 94.4% of group Aand 60% of group B were asymptomatic, during 2 year follow-up period (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: Resection, in selected patients, can be done with low mortality and morbidity and superior to medical therapy in long term follow up.

Keywords : Bronchiectasis, resection, lobectomy, pneumonectomy