The technique of stump closure has no impact on post-pneumonectomy bronchopleural fistula in the non-small cell lung cancer—a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Pneumonectomy is a high-risk radical resection procedure, with bronchopleural fistula (BPF) being its most challenging and severe complication. This study aimed to assess the surgical risk factors and the impact of the bronchial stump closure technique on the incidence of the BPF. METHODS: This is a single-center, cross-sectional study of the medical records of 455 post-pneumonectomy patients operated due to non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in 2006–2017. We analyzed the following variables and their influence on the occurrence of the BPF: operation side, surgical techniques (i.e., manual suture or the stapler), stump buttressing, the extension of pneumonectomy, comorbidities, and postoperative complications. RESULTS: BPF occurred in 7.47% of post-pneumonectomy patients. BPF was more prevalent in right-sided pneumonectomy versus left-sided (10.98% vs. 5.32%; P=0.026). The use of a stapler or manual suture was not associated with the incidence of the BPF (7.96% vs.7.09%, P=0.72). There were no significant differences in the occurrence of BPF among bronchial stump buttressing with the parietal pleura (P=0.80), intercostal muscle flap (IMF) (P=0.46), and pericardial fat pad (P=0.88). When comparing data from 2006–2012 with those from 2013–2017, we found a steady decrease in the number of performed stump reinforcements, but this was not associated with a higher risk of BPF. CONCLUSIONS: The method used for stump closure, additional tissue buttressing of the bronchial stump and year of the surgery had no significant impact on the occurrence of BPF. Only right-sided pneumonectomy was associated with higher BPF occurrence.