The VATS Lobectomy Book

Abstract This book is a surgical guide to video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) lobectomy, a form of minimally invasive surgery (MIS). All images are intentionally oversimplified by design, to show the anatomy as it normally lies and how it changes after each step of the procedure. The book also addresses that video-assisted thoracic surgery is not always the right answer. It describes that thoracotomy, the open surgery alternative to VATS, should be viewed as a tool, instead of a failure. This book is written to show the complex relationship of pulmonary anatomy and to share techniques that can make them easier to approach.