DOES VATS FAVOR SEEDING OF CARCINOMA OF THE LUNG MORE THAN A CONVENTIONAL OPERATION

Seeding of carcinoma has always been of concern to surgeons, Recent re ports have focused on possible implantation of tumor in the small woun ds of minimally invasive procedures, i.e. VATS, A patient is presented who had a conventional open lobectomy for carcinoma and later develop ed tumor in the traditional thoracotomy wound. Although seeding or tum or implantation is accepted by thoracic surgeons, the exact mechanism of tumor implantation has never been scientifically explained or docum ented. Possibly, a rare and necessary pattern of genetic mutations cou ld be responsible for this infrequent but serious problem.