Half the deaths after surgery for lung cancer occur after discharge.

Introduction: Mortality following surgery for lung cancer increases at 90 days. The objective of this study was to determine the rate, factors, time to death, hospital stay until discharge, time to death after discharge and causes of mortality at 90 days following surgery for lung cancer.

Methods: A prospective follow-up study was performed in a cohort of 378 patients who underwent surgery for lung cancer between January 2012 and December 2016.