Is it better to operate congenital lung malformations when patients are still asymptomatic?

Abstract

Context: Congenital lung malformation (CLM) is a rare developmental anomaly of the lower respiratory tract. The purposes are to define if the presence of respiratory symptoms, in CLM may affect surgical outcomes and to define optimal timing for surgery in asymptomatic patients. Settings and Design: Retrospective review of patients with CLM from 2004 to 2018. Asymptomatic and symptomatic patients were compared. Moreover, asymptomatic patients were stratified according to age at surgery (6 months). Subjects and Methods: Demographic data, prenatal diagnosis, symptoms, CLM's characteristics, operative and postoperative data were collected. Patients were divided into two groups based on the presence or none of respiratory symptoms. Statistical Analysis: Data were compared using the Fisher's exact test for qualitative values and Mann-Whitney test for quantitative values P 6 months (7%). Conclusions: The present study describes a comprehensive picture of CLM. In addition, we emphasize the role of early postnatal management and thoracoscopic surgery, also before 6 months of life, to prevent the onset of symptoms that are associated with worse outcomes.

Keywords

• congenital lung malformation
• congenital pulmonary airway malformation
• lung-sparing surgery
• thoracoscopy