Quality of life after video-assisted surgery for lung cancer

We congratulate Morten Bendixen and colleagues 1 Bendixen M Jørgensen OD Kronborg C et al. Postoperative pain and quality of life after lobectomy via video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery or anterolateral thoracotomy for early stage lung cancer: a randomised controlled trial. Lancet Oncol. 2016; 17: 836-844 Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (541) Google Scholar on completing a randomised controlled trial comparing postoperative pain and quality of life (QoL) between video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy (VATS) and anterolateral thoracotomy in early stage lung cancer. The difficulty of completing such a clinical trial is reflected in the paucity of randomised clinical trials on this topic and their study is an important contribution. Pain management is a major concern after pulmonary surgery, and adequate pain control has many advantages, including reducing the risks of morbidity and lowering the cost of care, mainly by shortening hospital stay. Postoperative pain and quality of life after lobectomy via video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery or anterolateral thoracotomy for early stage lung cancer: a randomised controlled trialVATS is associated with less postoperative pain and better quality of life than is anterolateral thoracotomy for the first year after surgery, suggesting that VATS should be the preferred surgical approach for lobectomy in stage I non-small-cell lung cancer. Full-Text PDF Quality of life after video-assisted surgery for lung cancer – Author's replyWe appreciate the interest in our trial1 comparing postoperative pain and quality of life between video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy (VATS) and anterolateral thoracotomy in early-stage lung cancer, and the encouraging comments. Full-Text PDF