Fissureless trans-pericardial left upper lobectomy of the lung: a technique to avoid pneumonectomy.

Fissureless lobectomy of the lung is an operative technique in which hilar vessels and bronchus are divided before the interlobar fissure is separated. When hilar vessels and bronchus cannot be exposed because of tumor progression, this procedure cannot be used. As an alternative, we propose here trans-pericardial fissureless left upper lobectomy, in which the left upper bronchus is exposed by dividing the posterior wall of the pericardium after the left upper pulmonary vein is divided in the pericardial cavity. This technique enables us to perform fissureless left upper lobectomy even when hilar vessels cannot be accessed outside the pericardium.