Thoracoscopic lingulectomy for invasive pulmonary aspergillosis

Abstract

Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) is associated with a high mortality rate in immunocompromised patients. Surgery has a therapeutic role for selected patients when the main objective is to achieve infection control with minimal lung resection. Large or deep-seated lesions may require an anatomic resection such as segmentectomy, lobectomy, or pneumonectomy. Thoracoscopic lobectomy has been described as a treatment of localized IPA; however, thoracoscopic anatomic segmentectomy has not been reported until now. Herein, we describe a case of thoracoscopic lingulectomy for localized IPA in an immunocompromised patient: this operation minimized the delay in resuming therapy for the patient's underlying acute myeloid leukemia. Video-assisted thoracoscopic segmentectomy can be safely performed for localized IPA.