VATS Left Lower Lobe Lobectomy

Welcome to the fifth of twelve videos that compose the series "Thoracic Surgical Oncology - Technical Approaches," by Professor Tristan D. Yan. To learn more about the series and see the complete list of videos, click here.

This series of video tutorials demonstrate how to perform a VATS lobectomy in a safe and simple way, using the Edinburgh posterior approach, pioneered by Mr William Walker. This approach provides excellent visualization of the tips of the instruments, coming towards the endoscope. Each lobectomy generally takes less than 30 minutes to complete and total ipsilateral lymph node dissection is straightforward with this approach. This video shows how to take the left lower lobe pulmonary artery first, when the oblique fissure is relatively well developed. Please note with the Edinburgh posterior approach, the instruments travel along the axis of the oblique fissure, with no or minimal angulation, which avoids any unnecessary lateral movements.