Unidirectionally thoracoscopic resection of lingual segment of the left upper pulmonary lobe

A patient with adenocarcinoma in situ was reported to undergo unidirectionally thoracoscopic resection of lingual segment of the left upper pulmonary lobe and lymphadenectomy in the order of the lingual segmental vein, the lingual segmental bronchus, the lingual segmental artery, and the pulmonary tissues of the lingual segment in turn. As the concepts of adenocarcinoma in situ and minimally invasive adenocarcinoma are defined in the latest international classification of lung adenocarcinoma, pulmonary segmentectomy has been initially used in some multi-center clinical studies to treat these early lung cancer lesions. Pulmonary segmentectomy is currently one of the most minimally invasive lung surgeries, with its unique technical essentials different from those of pulmonary lobectomy. Some studies have shown that pulmonary segmentectomy for early lung cancer, especially for tumors with a diameter of less than 2 cm can achieve a similar long-term survival rate as pulmonary lobectomy, yet its effectiveness and safety should be confirmed in further large-scale prospective studies.