Lung Volume Reduction in Patients with Severe Emphysema: Bronchoscopic Lobar versus Surgical Tailored Treatment

Abstract Background Bronchoscopic lung volume reduction (BLVR) with valves excludes one whole lobe while lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS) allows tailored treatment by resection of only heterogeneous, hardly perfused target areas. Aims We hypothesize that by (bilateral) LVRS, more areas of low attenuation (LAA, ≤ - 950 houndsfield units) can be resected more precisely, thus generating more functional improvement than BLVR. Methods Empysema patients treated with BLVR and LVRS at our institution between August 2019 and October 2020 were collected prospectively and analyzed retrospectively. LVRS responders were defined as patients with a postoperative improvement of at least 10% in FEV1 in combination with 10% delta in 6-minute-walking-distance (6MWD) or residual volume (RV) or diffusion capacity (DLCO), within the BLVR group additionally with a chest CT scan proven target lobe atelectasis. We performed LAA measurement in preoperative CT scan and 3 months (LVRS) or 1 month (BLVR) postoperatively. Functional improvement as well as LAA reduction was measured in each group and the groups compared with each other. Results 29 patients underwent LVRS, 19 were responders (5 bilateral LVRS, 14 unilateral), 3 were lost for follow up. Within the BLVR group (n=29), 18 were responders. In bilateral LVRS, improvement of 6MWD and FEV1 was significantly higher than in BLVR, accompanied by a significantly higher LAA-reduction (22.18 vs 9.54, p=0.009). In unilateral LVRS, LAA-reduction was not significantly higher (12.06 vs 9.54, p=0.267), while 6MWD and FEV1 still showed a higher postoperative improvement. RV reduction and DLCO improvement did not differ significantly between the groups. Conclusions LVRS might lead to significantly more functional improvement than BLVR with valves, maybe due to more resected LAA, especially in bilateral surgery. This concept may justify favoring primary bilateral LVRS over BLVR with valves in bilateral heterogeneous emphysema.