30-DAY OPERATIVE MORTALITY FOR THORACOTOMY IN LUNG-CANCER

Objective: The 30-day operative mortality for thoracotomy in lung canc er is described herein, Methods: From January 1994 through December 19 94, the Japanese Association for Chest Surgery surveyed the number of thoracotomies for lung cancer by operative procedure, age, and operati ve mortality, The operative mortality was defined as death within 30 d ays of operation, Results: The total number of operations was 7099, Th e overall 30-day operative mortality was 1.3%. By operative procedure, the mortalities were 3.2% for pneumonectomy, 1.2% for lobectomy, and 0.8% for a lesser operation, which showed a significant difference bet ween pneumonectomy and lobectomy (p <0.01). The mortality by age was 0 .4% for patients younger than 60 years, 1.3% for those aged 60 to 69, 2.0% for those aged 70 to 79, and 2.2% for those aged 80 or older, whi ch showed significant differences between the less than 60-year and 60 - to 69-year-old groups, and between the 60- and 69-year-old and 70- a nd 79-year-old groups (p < 0.01 and p = 0.047, respectively), Pneumoni a and respiratory failure caused most deaths (51.6%), Conclusions: The operative mortality in Japan for thoracotomy in long cancer was satis factorily low, The results of this study on a large population could s erve as a standard when discussing the operative outcome of lung cance r.