- Keith S Naunheim: Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, St. Louis University Health Sciences Center, 3635 Vista Avenue at Grand Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63110-0250, USA. naunheim@slu.edu
The concept of lung volume resection (LVR) was introduced in 1995 for the treatment of end-stage emphysema patients utilizing stapled resection through a median stenotomy approach. This article discusses this procedure and the trials that have been instituted. LVR might prove to be a viable alternative treatment modality for selected, end-stage emphysema patients in the future.