Bronchoscopic Evaluation of the Operability of Pulmonary Carcinoma

Abstract

For the evaluation of the operability of pulmonary carcinoma an explorative thoracotomy is not the most useful method. During diagnostic bronchoscopy there is ample opportunity for taking not only an excision of the tumour itself, but also for one or more biopsies from normally looking mucosa at the level of the expected plane of resection.

This study comprises 150 patients. In 13% of them a positive result of the paracarinal biopsy was obtained. In all of these patients a curative resection appeared impossible, whilst a palliative resection could be done only very rarely. The transbronchial puncture of the carina was positive in 16.5%. In those patients, too, a curative resection proved impossible, whilst a palliative resection was feasible only exceptionally. Finally, a tentative comparison is made between the relative merits of Daniels' biopsy and carinal puncture.