Standardizing the time-honored wedge resection

Wedge resection for pulmonary malignancy may be one of the most unappreciated yet commonly performed thoracic surgical procedures. This non-anatomic resection of the lung is indicated in patients with clinical stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who are considered to have risk preclusive of lobectomy. In the past decade, stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) has emerged as a viable option for the same indication (1,2).