Extended sleeve lobectomy: its place in surgical therapy for centrally located non-small cell lung cancer and a review of technical aspects

Sleeve lobectomy has been a well-established and widely accepted alternative to pneumonectomy for centrally located non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) as it is more sparing of lung parenchyma. Until the early 2000s much literature, including a meta-analysis study, described favorable results for sleeve lobectomy, suggesting a comparable oncological outcome to pneumonectomy with lower postoperative mortality and morbidity.