Safety And Risk Factors For The Morbidity And Mortality Of Pneumonectomy: A Retrospective 10- Year Study In A Single Institution.

Objectives: Pneumonectomy is a procedure with high post-operative morbidity and mortality. This study aims to assess and identify possible risk factors that can affect post-operative outcome, therefore determining the safety of pneumonectomy in specific groups.

Methods: A total of 63 patients submitted to pneumonectomy at our centre, from February 2008 to February 2018, were included in our retrospective study. Age, gender, side of intervention, diagnosis, pre-operative symptoms, substance abuse and comorbidities were assessed. Early and late post-operative complications, as well as death were our major outcomes. We analysed the impact of preoperative variables on major outcomes using SPSS statistics.

Results: We found a 9,8% surgery-related mortality and 1-year survival rate of 76,2%. The incidence of early complications in our population was of 35% while eleven patients (17,4%) developed late post-operative complications. No statistical difference was found when comparing survival time between genders or age groups. Right sided pneumonectomies seem to be associated with an higher mortality risk. No other association between risk factors and outcomes reached statistical significance in both univariate and multivariate analysis.

Conclusions: Pneumonectomy is a viable option regardless of age whenever the patient has a good functional and cardiopulmonary status. Gender and diagnostic group do not seem to influence adverse event risk, although right-sided pneumonectomies show an increased risk for post-operative death. Care should be taken with patients submitted to neoadjuvant therapy. All patients should be encouraged to cease smoking as early as possible before surgery, given the increased risks for post-operative complications.