La préservation du nerf phrénique dans la chirurgie du cancer bronchique

Bronchial carcinoma may involve the phrenic nerve, confronting the surgeon with a difficult choice. In 10 patients undergoing surgery for bronchial carcinoma without previous diaphragmatic palsy, extension to the nerve was discovered during the thoracotomy, leading to a choice between radical surgery involving resection of the nerve, with subsequent diaphragmatic palsy, or incomplete conservative resection preserving the lung function. Conservative surgery was chosen. The subsequent evolution validated this choice. However, the paucity of papers on such cases, although they are not outstandingly unusual, should be noted.