Background: Lung carcinoid tumors are low grade cancerous tumours that develop from neuroendocrine cells that have become more common recently. Endobronchial bronchoscopic cryotherapy has gained interest by cardiothoracic surgeons as an alternative to the surgical bronchotomy.
Objective: The aim of the current study is to assess the efficacy of bronchoscopic cryotherapy in the treatment of endobronchial typical carcinoid.
Patients and methods: A prospective controlled clinical trial included 30 patients presented with endobronchial typical carcinoid from the January 2021 to the August 2022. Patients were randomly divided into two equal groups. Group A included patients who had excision of the endobrochial mass using bronchscopic cryotherapy, and Group B included patients who had excision of the endobrochial mass using open surgical bronchotomy. Follow up of the patients was performed on regular basis clinically, radiologically and by bronchoscopic evaluation.
Results: The Hospitalization period was shorter in Group A (6±2 hours), than in Group B (8±3 hours) showing a statistically significant difference. There was a high statistically significant difference between both groups regarding the postoperative scar presence (0 % in Group A vesurs 100% in Group B). Intraoperative and peri-operative data showed a non-significant difference (p>0.05) between both studied groups.
Conclusion: Bronchoscopic cryotherapy is an efficient and safe procedure for the excision of endobronchial typical carcinoid.