THE PLACE OF SLEEVE LOBECTOMY IN THE SURGERY OF BRONCHIAL CARCINOID TUMORS: -EXPERIENCE OF A MOROCCAN UNIT-

Introduction: Carcinoid bronchial tumors are the best indications for sleeve lobectomy which was initially indicated in patients who cannot tolerate pneumectomy before it has been considered as the intervention of choice. Through five clinical cases of bronchial carcinoid tumors having all benefited from a sleeve lobectomy, we will focus on the technical aspects of this surgical procedure as well as on its results with a review of the literature. Patients and Methods: This is a retrospective study over a nine year period collecting 5 cases of operated central bronchial carcinoid tumors in patients who undergone a sleeve lobectomy. We analyzed the clinical and paraclinical parameters as well as the operating technique used and the surgical results. Results: All patients were female. The major complaining symptom was low abundance hemoptysis in 4 patients (80%) and chest pain in one patient (20%). All included patients benefited from a chest X-ray with thoracic CT scan. Sleeve lobectomy was indicated and the post-operative outcome was simple in all patients. Conclusion: Our study, consistent with the literature data, demonstrated that recent advances in patient selection criteria and in surgical techniques have enabled sleeve-lobectomy to evolve becoming the first line intervention for lesions located in the center and for all histological grades.