Neodymium:yttrium-aluminium-garnet laser for excision of pulmonary nodules: an institutional review

Eighty patients amongst 850 undergoing pulmonary surgery with the use of neodymium:yttrium-aluminium-garnet (Nd:YAG) laser had a solitary pulmonary nodule (≤ 50 mm) on chest radiography, which was confirmed or suspected pre-operatively to be primary lung cancer. All patients had a mini-thoracotomy to expose the lesion. They then had Nd:YAG laser to excise the nodule locally. There was no hospital mortality. Six patients had non-fatal post-operative complications. Pathologically, 46 patients had primary lung cancer and ten had secondary lung cancer. Twenty-four others had benign lesions. Mean hospital stay was 5.5 days. Post-operative reduction of forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV₁) was 14% and 13% (mean), respectively. Thirty-seven patients with primary lung cancer were followed up for between 12 months and 60 months. Mean survival time of these patients was 39 months (s.d. 13 months). It was concluded that Nd:YAG laser for pulmonary nodular lesions should be considered for a selected group of patients unsuitable for standard resection.