This series on “Airway Surgery” is edited by Dr. Servet Bölükbas, from Department of Thoracic Surgery, Kliniken Essen-Mitte, Essen, Germany.
Sleeve resections of the tracheobronchial tree are performed to avoid pneumonectomy and to achieve a complete resection in centrally located lung tumors. In 1947, Sir Clement Price Thomas performed the first right upper lobe sleeve lobectomy for adenoma. He also reported about a case series of 36 sleeve lobectomies including a sleeve resection of the left main bronchus with upper lobe and sleeve of pulmonary artery in 1959. It was not a surgery for everybody by that time! Nowadays, sleeve lobectomy has become a routine procedure at least in open thoracic surgery. I hope you will enjoy the present series with various and very valuable contributions on this topic of airway surgery.
Introduction: airway surgery-pushing the limits
Anesthetic considerations for tracheobronchial surgery
Management of tracheobronchial injuries
Technique of laryngotracheal resection in subglottic stenosis
Standard and extended sleeve resections of the tracheobronchial tree
Robotic-assisted tracheobronchial surgery
Prophylaxis and management of postoperative complications after tracheobronchial surgery
Tracheotomy, closure of long-term tracheostomy and standard tracheal segmental resections
Uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic lung sparing tracheo-bronchial and carinal sleeve resections
Disclosure:
The focused issue “Airway Surgery” was commissioned by the editorial office, Journal of Thoracic Disease without any funding or sponsorship. Servet Bölükbas is serving as the unpaid Guest Editor for the focused issue.