VATS (Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery)

In open surgeries, the ribs are stretched to separate the rib cage (using a retractor), and this crushes the nerves between the ribs. Patients suffer from very severe chest pain for months after surgery. In the VATS method, however, since the ribs are not separated at all and the instruments enter thinly between the bones, the pain after the surgery is incredibly low, the intensive care period is short, and the patient does not experience aesthetic anxiety.

Just as the VATS method can be done through 2 or 3 holes, experienced thoracic surgeons today can perform the entire lung cancer surgery perfectly by inserting the camera and instruments simultaneously through "only a single 3-4 cm hole" (Uniportal VATS) without even using those 3 holes. Tissue trauma is thus minimized.

Yes. Whether the surgery is closed or open, at the end of the surgery, a plastic hose (drain) is attached to the chest to take out the blood, fluid, and leaked air accumulated around the lung (in the pleural cavity). When the leak in the lung ends (usually within 2 to 4 days), this drain is painlessly removed, and the patient is discharged home.