[Lobectomy extended to the main bronchus in the treatment of bronchial cancer (seventy-three cases)].

Sleeve allow excision of bronchial carcinoma in patients not able to functionally tolerate pneumonectomy. Our series consists of 73 patients operated over the last thirty years. Implantation of the bronchus was treated either by wedge resection or by complete resection followed by reimplantation. This procedure was performed for respiratory functional reasons in 39 cases (53%), on principle in 27 cases (37%) and in palliative indications in 7 cases (10%). The high perioperative mortality (6.8%) and morbidity (20%) were related to bronchovascular complications which were eliminated over the last decade. Local recurrences (23%) were more frequent than following conventional resections. On the other hand, the survival, 80% at one year, 62% at 2 years, 54% at 3 years and 39% at 5 years, related more to metastatic dissemination than to local recurrence, was comparable to that of the control group of pneumonectomised patients. This procedure gave identical results in terms of survival, but should be reserved for patients with respiratory failure due to the increased risk of local recurrence.