Preserving the eponym: Klinkenbergh technique for bronchial stump suturing

Abstract

The technique for bronchial stump suturing following lung resection which is currently applied in the Department of Thoracic Surgery at the University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium owes its name to the Dutch surgeon Dr. Klinkenbergh (1891–1985). A true pioneer of cardiothoracic surgery in Europe, Dr. Klinkenbergh dedicated himself to the surgical treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis. His work was praised by his peers for his precision and the reasoning behind every gesture. The Klinkenbergh technique consists in performing two running sutures which cross each other ‘in the same manner as the laces of a shoe’ to close the bronchus, limiting the occurrence of broncho-pleural fistulas. In our experience with more than 100 patients in the last 5 years (2016–2020) who underwent open pneumonectomy for benign or malignant disease, less than 2% developed post-operative broncho-pleural fistulas.

Keywords:

• Bronchial stump
• eponym
• Klinkenbergh
• lung surgery
• pneumonectomy

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank all the nursing, paramedical and supporting staff of the Department of Thoracic Surgery, anaesthesiologists, intensive care physicians and pulmonologists involved in the Thoracic Surgery Program at the University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflict of interest in regard to this study.

Unrelated disclosures are:

• HVV is supported by Kom Op tegen Kanker, the Flemish Cancer Society and by the Clinical Research Fund of the University Hospitals Leuven.

• LDP is supported by a starting grant from the University Hospitals Leuven (KOOR-UZ Leuven).

• DVR is supported by the Broere Charitable Foundation.

• LJC is supported by a KU Leuven University Chair funded by Medtronic and a post-doctoral grant from the University Hospitals Leuven (KOOR-UZ Leuven).

Additional information

Funding

Dr Prisciandaro’s fellowship in Thoracic Surgery at the University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium was granted by the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons (ESTS) Biology Club, funded by Medtronic.