Marking method for peripheral non-palpable pulmonary nodules using a mobile computed tomography scanner with a navigation system

Intraoperative localization is essential for video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery of non-palpable pulmonary nodules. Although a computed tomography (CT) guided hook-wire localization is widely used, it might be accompanied by a rare but fatal complication such as an air embolism. We applied a mobile CT scanner with a navigation system to resolve this problem. The three-dimensional images obtained by the mobile CT scanner were transferred to the navigation system, which allowed for virtual fluoroscopy to scan the nearest skin site from the target lesion using a navigation probe. The lung surface was stamped by a dyed gauze ball anchored just beneath the skin marking and a needle was placed at this point as a landmark. With this method, we could verify the positional relationship between the needle and target lesion by the additional CT scan without any procedure-related morbidity.