Video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) has been used by thoracic surgeons for more than a decade and there is clinical evidence that supports the benefits versus open surgery.³⁵ In particular, VATS procedures result in less trauma and pain, and offer a significantly lower risk of postoperative complications – as much as 70% in some thoracic procedures.³⁵ Despite this, only about 25 percent of thoracic surgeons have adopted VATS.

VATS offers the surgeon a variety of procedure options.  It can be used to take biopsies and is also effective for removing diseased lung tissue (tumors) in the lungs or chest cavity. These procedures need just a small number of incisions compared to many types of open surgery, where a large incision and other invasive measures are required that may result in a high degree of postoperative pain and discomfort.³⁷

For example, a VATS procedure for patients with clinical stage-one, non-small cell lung cancer may offer a number of important medical advantages when compared to open surgery. Patients experience as much as 61% less pain after surgery and require fewer analgesics, leave the hospital more quickly, and return to normal life sooner.^35,37,38

At Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc., we're committed to working with the thoracic surgery community to spread the word about the benefits of VATS. We also continue to advance the innovation of our devices to offer more options for minimally invasive techniques. In the end, our goal is to help you better serve the needs of your patients: From offering patient education materials for specific procedures, to providing outreach to doctors and professional training for the latest minimally invasive approaches.

We have a number devices that have proven useful for you to consider, including:

Endocutter technology – Our ECHELON ENDOPATH™ Line of Straight and Articulating Endocutters combines compression and strength to handle all your thoracic procedures along with innovative design needed for precise surgical performance. Developed with Halsted’s principles of surgery in mind, they are designed to create hemostasis and enable the gentle handling of tissue while applying appropriate tissue compression for a safe and effective procedure. The most recent addition to the family, ECHELON FLEX™ Stapler, delivers our ECHELON enhanced system-wide compression with natural articulation and can be operated with only one hand.

For additional information on Cardiothoracic surgery, visit the following professional sites:

• American Association of Thoracic Surgery (AATS)
• The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS)
• The Cardiothoracic Surgery Network (CTS NET)

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