New Data Suggest Minimally Invasive, Video-Assisted Thorascopic Wedge Resections for Lung Cancer Provide Clinical and Economic Advantages to Patients, Hospitals and Payors

ETHICON ENDO-SURGERY

Ethicon Endo-Surgery, a leading provider of advanced surgical solutions for minimally-invasive and open procedures, announces the results of a study suggesting that video-assisted thorascopic surgery (VATS) wedge resections are associated with significantly shorter operative times, shorter lengths of stay and lower hospital costs than open wedge resections for lung cancer indications. VATS wedge resections for lung cancer indications are now performed nearly as often as traditional and open wedge resections. “In the past two decades, thoracoscopic procedures for the diagnosis or treatment of lung cancer have been transformed by the ongoing refinement of VATS techniques and equipment, particularly high definition cameras and monitors. Thoracoscopic procedures are now rarely performed without the use of video-assistance, but the adoption has been slower in procedures that would be considered traditionally ‘thoracotomy settings,’ such as deep wedge resections, segmentectomy, and lobectomy,” said Dr. John Howington, Chief of Thoracic Surgery, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, Ill. “Any evidence supporting the advantages of VATS will further the adoption of these procedures, improving patient outcomes and lowering overall hospital costs.”  Learn more at http://bit.ly/zSukIm.