Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the indications, techniques, postoperative complications, mortality, and survival in primary lung cancer patients who underwent sleeve resection to preserve tumor-free pulmonary parenchyma.

Methods: From January 1992 to December 2004, 77 patients (19 females, 58 males; mean age 57.0±15.4 years; range 7 to 82 years) with various pathologies underwent pulmonary sleeve resections.

Results: Indications for sleeve resections were primary lung cancer in 58 patients, metastatic lung cancer in four patients, carcinoid tumor in nine patients, benign diseases in five patients, and another tumor in one patient. The type of resections were bronchial sleeve lobectomy (n=60), isolated arterial sleeve resection (n=5), double sleeve resection (n=6), and segmental (n=4) and carinal (n=2) sleeve resections. Postoperative complications occurred in 16 patients (20.7%) and mortality was seen in two patients (2.6%) who died from adult respiratory distress syndrome. Complications were not found to be associated with the suture technique, primary pathology, and the type of resection (p>0.05).

Conclusion: Sleeve resections have similar mortality and morbidity rates to those of conventional pulmonary resections. The occurrence of postoperative complications is not correlated with the suture technique, primary pathology, and the type of resection.

Keywords : Bronchial neoplasms/surgery/mortality; carcinoma, bronchogenic/surgery; lung neoplasms/surgery; pneumonectomy/ methods