Carcinoid tumors are rare, and constitute less than 2% of all pulmonary tumors. They are low grade malignant tumors, which can be locally invasive or spread to regional lymph nodes. In this study, medical records of 13 patients, who underwent surgical resection for carcinoid tumors between July 1996 and December 2004, were reviewed, and the results were evaluated. A histopathologic diagnosis was obtained by bronchoscopic needle biopsy in five (38.4%) of 13 patients prior to surgery. All of the patients underwent surgical therapy via left or right thoracotomy. The type of resections was lobectomy in nine (69.2%) patients, pneumenectomy in three (23.1%) patients and bilobectomy inferior in one (7.7%) patient. The postoperative hystopathological diagnosis revealed nine (69.2%) typical and four (30.8%) atypical carcinoid tumors, and surgical margins were clear in all of the patients. The overall five years survival rate was 87.5%. Early diagnosis is important and surgery is the treatment of choice in carcinoid tumors by preventing maximum lung parenchyma. However, pneumonectomy may be required in some cases, when the distal lung parenchyma was destroyed due to long-standing obstruction. A long survival can be obtained by surgical treatment.
Keywords: Bronchoscopic needle aspiration, bronchial obstruction, carcinoid tumors
