Endoscopic and surgical treatment for bronchopleural fistula after major lung resection: an enduring challenge

Bronchopleural fistula (BPF) is a serious and potentially fatal complication of lung resection surgery (1). It’s incidence ranges from 4.5% to 20% after pneumonectomy and is estimated at 0.5% after lobectomy; such complication has a remarkable impact on mortality in post-op setting with a mortality rate of 27% in the more recent series and up to 70% in the previous ones (2-4).