Lung lobectomy surgical approach and resource utilization differ by anatomic lobe in a statewide discharge registry.

The marked clinical differences between anatomic lobes in the setting of pulmonary lobectomy observed in this study have the potential to translate to differences in expected hospital and health system costs and surgeon time-expenditure and experience premium that currently have no mechanism for their accounting. These findings highlight the value of ICD-10 coding for analysis of pulmonary lobectomy in administrative databases and suggest a possible path to more informed patient counseling and equitable hospital and surgeon reimbursement based on payment adjustment by anatomic lobe in pulmonary lobectomy operations.