The limited protective effect of prolonged smoking cessation on postoperative outcomes in uniportal video-assisted thoracic surgery for pulmonary nodules

Key Points

• Postoperative outcomes show limited improvement after prolonged smoking cessation, indicating minimal protective effects.
• Patients with prolonged smoking cessation experienced lower complication rates but not significantly improved overall results.
• Assessments were conducted through video-assisted thoracic surgery focusing on pulmonary nodules and their related outcomes.
• These findings highlight the need to consider additional interventions for better postoperative recovery.