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BACKGROUND Repeat cervical mediastinoscopy is a diagnostic surgical procedure for preoperative nodal staging in patients with insufficient first mediastinoscopy, with recurrent or second primary lung neoplasms, and following induction chemotherapy or chemo-/radiotherapy for locally advanced lung cancer. The aim of this study was to critically analyse indications, technical characteristics, intra- and postoperative complications, also to define selection criteria for patients with a higher probability of successful complete resection. METHODS 279 patients with lung cancer (66 female and 213 male patients, mean age 58 years, range 28 to 78 years) underwent repeat mediastinoscopy from 1968 to 2004, 12 because of inadequate first procedure (group A), 67 because of recurrent lung cancer (group B) 35 because of second primary lung cancer (group C), and 165 following induction chemo-/radiotherapy for IIIa and IIIb disease (group D). The interval between first and second procedure was 17 days (range, 12 - 38) in group A, 14 months (range, 5 - 29) in group B, 27 months (range, 19 - 124) in group C, and 132 days (range, 113 - 145) in group D. RESULTS No intra- or postoperative deaths were observed, 7 patients developed minor complications. N2 or N3 disease was found in 3/12 patients of group A (25 %), in 17/67 patients of group B (25.4 %) and in 6/35 patients of group C (17.1 %). Of the 116 patients with N2, and 49 with N3 disease before induction treatment (group D), repeat mediastinoscopy showed 126 N0, 20 N2 and 14 N3 status. Because of the presence of inseparable adhesions repeat mediastinoscopy was not possible in 5 cases. Five-year survival for patients with persistent N2 in repeat mediastinoscopy was despite surgery only 5 %. CONCLUSIONS Repeat mediastinoscopy is a safe explorative procedure for the restaging of patients with primary locally advanced, recurrent or second primary lung cancer. In patients after induction treatment it is, however, less sensitive than the primary mediastinoscopy because of adhesions and fibrotic tissue. Patients with persistent N2 or N3 disease in repeat mediastinoscopy have a poor survival so that the indication for surgery has to be taken into consideration very carefully.
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