Complications in anatomical lung resection: a comprehensive surgical perspective in a narrative review.
- 1Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA.
- 2Sentara Surgical Specialists, Sentara Medical Group, Norfolk, VA, USA.
Abstract
The development of new technologies and techniques has reduced the frequency and duration of many complications following pulmonary resection. This article reviews complications following lung resection including contemporary strategies in preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative management. A literature review was performed using PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library. Searches were conducted using topic-specific keywords related to perioperative management and complications following anatomical lung resection. Minimally invasive surgery is standard and has reduced cost and rates of many complications; however, rates of air leak remain unchanged. Resection following neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy, including minimally invasive surgery, does not appear to increase surgical risk although the available data reflects smaller sample sizes. Significant postoperative complications including bronchopleural fistula and empyema continue to require intensive and thoughtful management. Endoluminal therapies can be effective independently or as adjuncts in management these complications. A high index of suspicion should prompt early intervention to limit negative impact of postoperative complication. While many postoperative complications have reduced in frequency, the rate of postoperative air leak has not changed in two decades. Robust surgical clinical data following neoadjuvant treatment is limited and larger studies, which also report robotic surgical outcomes, are needed to reflect cotemporary surgical practice.
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BibTeX
@article{kennamer2026complications,
title = {{Complications in anatomical lung resection: a comprehensive surgical perspective in a narrative review.}},
author = {Karen Kennamer and Joseph A Reza},
journal = {Journal of thoracic disease},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.21037/jtd-2026-1003},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42996635},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Complications in anatomical lung resection: a comprehensive surgical perspective in a narrative review.
AU - Karen Kennamer
AU - Joseph A Reza
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/16
JO - Journal of thoracic disease
DO - 10.21037/jtd-2026-1003
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42996635
AB - The development of new technologies and techniques has reduced the frequency and duration of many complications following pulmonary resection. This article reviews complications following lung resection including contemporary strategies in preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative management. A literature review was performed using PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library. Searches were conducted using topic-specific keywords related to perioperative management and complications following anatomical lung resection. Minimally invasive surgery is standard and has reduced cost and rates of many complications; however, rates of air leak remain unchanged. Resection following neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy, including minimally invasive surgery, does not appear to increase surgical risk although the available data reflects smaller sample sizes. Significant postoperative complications including bronchopleural fistula and empyema continue to require intensive and thoughtful management. Endoluminal therapies can be effective independently or as adjuncts in management these complications. A high index of suspicion should prompt early intervention to limit negative impact of postoperative complication. While many postoperative complications have reduced in frequency, the rate of postoperative air leak has not changed in two decades. Robust surgical clinical data following neoadjuvant treatment is limited and larger studies, which also report robotic surgical outcomes, are needed to reflect cotemporary surgical practice.
SN - 2072-1439
SN - 2077-6624
ER -