Optimal management of long-term air leakage after lung resections for cancer

Abstract

Lung resection is the main diagnostic and therapeutic surgical intervention in terms of lung cancer management. Air leak through pleural drains often occurs after lung resections due to damage to the pulmonary parenchyma. Therefore, proper drainage of the pleural cavity is very important for the successful outcome of the operation. The installation of a single pleural drainage after anatomical resection, the refusal to use vacuum aspiration and the earliest possible removal of drains contribute to the rapid activation of patients in the postoperative period. Prolonged air leakage (PAL) after lung resection, on average, develops in 15 % of lung cancer patients, remaining one of the most common complications adversely affecting the rehabilitation of patients and leading to delayed discharge from the hospital. The incidence of empyema with prolonged air leakage is 10.4 % with air discharge for more than 7 days compared to 1 % with air leaks less than or equal to 7 days. PAL requires prolonged drainage of the pleural cavity, which increases postoperative pain, causing shallow breathing, difficulty coughing leads to an increased risk of pneumonia, decreased mobility is accompanied by a high risk of thromboembolic complications. In addition, the treatment of complications is associated with the need to perform additional invasive interventions such as chemical or mechanical pleurodesis. Prolonged air leakage is associated with an increase in hospital mortality. Patients with an air leak have a 3.4 times greater risk of death than patients without it. Active tactics in relation to PAL include preoperative prediction of a high risk of complications, intraoperative measures to prevent air leak from the lung parenchyma and postoperative treatment to reduce the duration of PAL. The urgency of the problem is due to the fact that prolonged air leakage in patients with lung cancer after organ-preserving operations is associated with an increased risk of infectious complications due to the need for prolonged drainage of the pleural cavity. In this review, the main attention is paid to two components of postoperative management of PAL: diagnosis with an accurate assessment of the intensity of air leak and treatment of alveolar-pleural fistulas.