Surgical approaches to video-assisted thoracic surgery lobectomy: a brief preface

Approximately two decades ago, thoracic surgery witnessed the leap from thoracotomy to the first video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) lobectomy. VATS lobectomy is now widely established as a safe and oncological sound technology that is the standard of care for early-stage lung cancer. Reduction of trauma, bleeding, pain, hospitalisation time and recovery for the patient, these, in short, the main advantages of minimally invasive surgery that for several years is now increasingly replacing the traditional thoracotomy in many pulmonary surgical indications.