Long-term outcomes of drainless anatomical lung resection surgery for pulmonary malignancies

Ting-Fang Kuo, Mong-Wei Lin, Ke-Cheng Chen, Shuenn-Wen Kuo, Pei-Ming Huang and Jang-Ming Lee  |  February 3, 2026

This single‑surgeon cohort study evaluated long‑term outcomes of drainless minimally invasive anatomical lung resection for pulmonary malignancies. In carefully selected patients, omission of chest drains was associated with excellent perioperative results and favorable 3‑year overall and disease‑free survival, without compromising oncologic quality. These findings suggest that drainless techniques can safely eliminate chest drain-related morbidity while maintaining long‑term surgical efficacy, supporting selective adoption pending randomized confirmation.

Link to publication


All Papers »