In the last decade, thoracic surgery has rapidly moved forward to new approaches. The introduction and diffusion of VATS lobectomy represents a watershed and now this technique represents the gold standard for pulmonary resection. Progressively, the indication for a minimally invasive approach moved from initial stage pulmonary disease to more advanced ones, with resection extended to other organs, invading fields generally considered reserved to open approaches. Concurrently, new approaches emerged as robotic surgery, no more limited to the mediastinal pathology.

We aim to provide with this focused series an overview about the possible and, sometimes, unprecedented approaches to complex cases. This may be helpful to other surgeons when facing challenging cases and to stimulate their imagination, which represents one of the fundamental elements for the progress of surgery.

Disclosure:
The series “Alternative Surgical Approaches for Challenging Cases in Thoracic Surgery” was commissioned by the editorial office, Journal of Visualized Surgery without any sponsorship or funding. Federico Rea served as the unpaid Guest Editor for the series.