Bronchoplastic procedures for central carcinoid tumors: clinical experience.

Objective: To evaluate the short-term and the long-term results of bronchoplastic resections (BR) performed for central carcinoid tumors (CCT).

Methods: Retrospective study of patients who underwent BR for a CCT between 1966 and 2003.

Results: BRs were performed in 25 patients out of 92 (27%) who were resected for CCT. Median age was 37 years. All patients were symptomatic. Preoperative bronchoscopy was diagnostic in 15 patients. The bronchoplasties performed were: 11 sleeve lobectomies, 1 sleeve segmentectomy, 8 wedge lobectomies, 4 flap lobectomies and 1 wedge segmentectomy. There were 22 typical and 3 atypical carcinoids without nodal metastasis. No major complications or mortality occurred. One patient with a typical carcinoid developed pretracheal metastatic adenopathy 19 years after resection. No recurrence or stenosis has occurred at the sites of bronchoplasty so far. Three patients died of unrelated disease. Overall the 10-, 15- and 20-year survival rates were 100, 100 and 71%.

Conclusions: Bronchoplastic resections are the treatment of choice for CCT. Short- and long-term results are excellent. Life-long follow-up is necessary, however, due to the possibility of late recurrence.