A novel and simple method for identifying the lung intersegmental plane with an infrared thermography

Background/Introduction In performing lung segmentectomy, identification of the intersegmental plane is a very important process. To identify the intersegmental plane, several methods have been reported: (1) making a border line between inflated and deflated segments; (2) using infrared thoracoscopy with intravenous or intrabronchial injection of indocyanine green; (3) identifying intersegmental pulmonary vein using 3-dimensional pulmonary models. However each method has its own problems, and the choice of these methods is controversial. Recently, in ex-vivo study, the relation between lung perfusion and lung surface temperature was reported, whereas the change of surface temperature during lung segmentectomy has not been clarified.