Postoperative pulmonary embolism detected with multislice computed tomography in lung surgery for cancer.

摘要

Limited information is currently available on the incidence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients undergoing lung surgery for cancer.1,2 Pulmonary embolism (PE) has been found to be a frequently fatal postoperative complication, as confirmed by autopsy in 15.2% ofpostresectional deaths.3 The clinical burden of PE in surgical patients is underestimated, probably because the majority of VTE remains asymptomatic or associated with aspecific symptoms. Several factors increase the thromboembolic risk in patients undergoing lung cancer surgery: intrinsic procoagulant effect of cancer, extensive surgical intervention, dependent limb positjon in the operating room, and vessel injury consequent to the operation.PE in patients undergoing thoracic surgery has sorne feculiarities. Indeed, in thoracic surgery, in addition to the established risk factors for VTE, local factors related to surgical technique, direct vascular injury, or both could play a remarkable role.The aim of this study was to assess the incidence of PE after lung surgery for cancer by using multislice computed tomographic (MSCT) scanning.