The presence of a mass of cancer cells in the lumen of the bronchial segment is generally regarded as a sign of incomplete surgical resection. However, it cannot be ruled out that the cancer cells recur and metastasize to this end after surgery or the surgery itself is palliative surgery, which should be judged according to the patient’s disease condition and intraoperative situation.
The principle of resection in bronchopulmonary cancer surgery is to completely remove the cancerous lesions to ensure negative margins, and at the same time, to remove the metastatic lymph nodes and try to preserve normal tissues. The presence of cancerous tissue in the lumen of the bronchial dissection does not specify whether the margins are negative or not, and if the margins are positive, it is generally considered that the surgery is not clean.
The presence of cancer cells in the bronchial dissection lumen may also be due to postoperative recurrence of lung cancer, metastasis to the bronchial dissection, or palliative surgery, in which the cancer cells may remain in the thoracic cavity after surgery, such as remaining in the bronchial dissection lumen, which is relatively rare.
If cancer cells are seen in the bronchial dissection lumen, it should be analyzed according to the patient’s specific situation, and the patient should consult the surgeon in time after getting the report, and then carry out the follow-up treatment.