Pneumonectomies: Indications and surgical results

Pneumonectomy is most often indicated as a curative treatment for lung cancer, emphysema, pulmonary fibrosis, infectious lung diseases or congenital anomalies.However, depending on the series, it remains a cumbersome surgical procedure, associated with a risk of frequent and serious complications, sometimes with permanent sequelae. Indications for this type of lung resection vary, with postoperative morbidity rates ranging from 18.7% to 59%, and mortality from 3.6% to 16%, depending on the series in the literature.Other causes of pneumonectomy than cancer remain rare, with acceptable rates of operative morbidity and mortality.The advent of new diagnostic and therapeutic techniques, 3D reconstructions, and the development of the techniques and surgical approaches used have, in some cases, reduced the need for pneumonectomy, making way for resections that spare the lung parenchyma as much as possible.