244 Kocer et al IJTCVS Ca lung 2008; 24: 244–248 The effect of malignancy on morbidity rates in thoracotomy patients Bulent Kocer 1 , MD, Gultekin Gulbahar 1 , MD, Erkan Yildirim 1 , MD, Mahmut Kocakel 1 , MD, Mustafa Neemi Ilhan 2 , PhD, Koray Dural 1 , MD, Unal Sakinci 1 , MD 1 Numune Teaching and Research Hospital, Division of Thoracic Surgery, Ankara, Turkey 2 Gazi University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Public Health, Ankara, Turkey Address for correspondence: Dr. Gultekin Gulbahar Huzur mah. 1. Cad. 48. sk. No:7/11 Dikmen/ Ankara- TURKEY E-mail : mdgultekin@gmail.com Telephone : +90 312 472 14 60 Mobile : +90 505 335 95 31 Fax : +90 312 310 46 16 © IJTCVS 097091342441208/89 OA Received - 11/10/07; Review Completed - 06/10/08; Accepted - 27/10/08. Introduction Malignancies, particularly the lung cancer being the leading cause of death, are the second most common cause for death in the United States 1 . Surgery is the only treatment modality that may provide cure 2 . After major thoracic surgery, the complication rate associated with operation type and Abstract Background: A comparison of the morbidity rates between the patients who had undergone thoracotomy for malignant and non-malignant pathologies. Methods: The records of 337 patients who were performed standard posterolateral thoracotomy were retrospectively evaluated. The patients were evaluated in two groups as the patients with malignant pathologies (Group-A) and the patients with non-malignant pathologies (Group-B). Results: Of 337 patients, 130 (38.6%) were in Group A, and 207 were in Group B. In Group A, 110 (84.6%) patients were male, and 20 patients were female. In Group B, 118 (57%) patients were male, and 89 patients were female. The mean age for each group was 53.9 and 38.7 years, respectively. Group A had a higher incidence of postoperative complications (17% (n=22) than Group B (8.7%; n=18) (p=0.035)). In both groups, the morbidity rate was directly correlated with age, the incidence of comorbidity, and the pulmonary resection. However, it was more significant in Group A than the Group B. The most common complication was prolonged air leak in Group A (n=10; 7.7%), while it was wound infection in Group B (n=6, 2.9%). The hospital follow-up (postoperative hospitalization) time for the patients in Group A (17.1±8.0 days) was longer than in Group B (14.3±7.9 days) (p=0.001). Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that in addition to common predisposing factors in this group of patients such as advanced age, comorbidity, and pulmonary resection that increase postoperative complication risk, the characteristics of malignant diseases may be predictive factors for increased morbidity. (Ind J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2008; 24: 244-248) Key words: Lung cancer, Thoractomy, Lung patient related factors is high 3 . Postoperative complications negatively affect the hospital stay, cost, and operative mortality rates 3,4 . Various studies have focused on risk factors such as age, comorbidity, smoking, and poor respiratory function that could cause complications 5-7 . In the current study, the patients who had undergone thoracotomy for malignant or non-malignant pathologies were compared for postoperative morbidity rates. In addition, the study investigated whether the presence of malignancy as a primary disease was a predictive factor for potential postoperative complications. Methods The records of 337 patients who were performed standard posterolateral thoracotomy (PLT) between 89-08(OA) 244-248.p65 12/26/2008, 12:03 PM 244