Ventilation-Perfusion Scintigraphy to Predict Postoperative Pulmonary Function in Lung Cancer Patients Undergoing Pneumonectomy

Abstract

Contrary to ACCP guidelines, we found that ventilation scintigraphy alone provided the best correlation between the predicted and actual postoperative values and recommend its use to predict postoperative lung function. However, scintigraphic techniques may underestimate postoperative lung function, so caution is required before unnecessarily preventing a patient from undergoing surgery that offers a potential cure.