A lung lobectomy (pulmonary lobectomy) is a surgery to remove a section (lobe) of your lung. This is a common surgery for treating non-small cell lung cancer in its early stages. It also treats lung carcinoid tumors and small cell lung cancer.

A surgeon may also do a partial lobectomy, a segmentectomy. This means they remove part of a lobe.

Besides lung cancer, other reasons for a lobectomy include:

• Problems with how your lung formed before birth
• Damage to your lung from infection or radiation
• Tumors that have spread from other places in your body to your lungs
• Bleeding from lung damage

Surgeons don’t open your chest for most lung resections. Instead, they use a minimally invasive method like video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) or robot-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (RATS). In both types, surgeons use tools they pass between your ribs through small cuts in your chest. This way, they don’t need to break or spread your ribs.

For a more complex lung surgery, a surgeon uses a thoracotomy. This involves making a larger cut and spreading your ribs apart to reach your lung.