Uniportal thoracoscopic lateral and posterior (S9+10) segmentectomy using a modified intersegmental tunneling procedure.

The lateral and posterior basal (S9+10) segmentectomy is one of the most challenging operations because it requires exposure and recognition of pulmonary vessel branches and bronchi that are located deep in the lung parenchyma. To perform this difficult operation appropriately, even via a uniportal approach, we adopted a modified version of the intersegmental tunneling procedure. Intersegmental tunneling followed by division of the intersegmental plane between S6 and S9-10 was performed before the division of the A9+10 in the modified version. In addition to the clear recognition of the dominant vessels and bronchi permitted by the tunneling procedure, we were able to divide them smoothly using a stapler in the modified version, although the tip of the inserted stapler stuck to the lung parenchyma in the previous version. This method might be universally preferable, even for less experienced surgeons, when they perform this challenging operation.