In standard and conventional surgery of the lung, there are a variety of
incisions allowing access to the chest cavity. The common feature to all is to place the
incision in a way which allows better surgical treatment for the lesion. The commonest
approach is postero-lateral thoracotomy through the fifth inter space, with the patient
placed on the operating table in an appropriate lateral position. This allows exploration
of the lungs as well as the mediastinum. A prone position/face down also allows good
exploration of the lungs and the postero mediastinum. All the anterior and anterolateral
incisions allow limited exploration of the lungs and arterial mediastinum. In this
chapter, the variety of incisions for the approach to the lung at different angles have
been briefly described and illustrated. Important advantages of standard thoracotomy
incisions and approaches to the thoracic cavity for lung cancer operations are: Firstly,
ample visual inspection with/without optical technology assistance. Secondly, to enable
the surgeon to use the palpation method, which is an important attribute not endowed
by the minimal access VATS methods.
Keywords: Antero-Lateral, Anterior Thoracotomies, Median Sternotomy,
Postero-Lateral, Standard Pulmonary Resection For Cancer.
