Applications of Ventilation-Perfusion Scintigraphy in Surgical Management of Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease and Cancer

Ventilation-perfusion scintigraphy (VPS) depicts the two main physiological processes that are fundamental to oxygen-dependent life. The test has affirmed its critical place in the evaluation of patients with lung cancer preparing for lung resection. The results of the study can differentiate patients who are very likely to survive surgery and the subsequent pulmonary function loss from those who are not. This review presents validated and evolving testing techniques for this critical indication. VPS has long been an integral part of the preoperative evaluation of lung transplant candidates, guiding the single lung grafts to the side with the worst function. New applications are emerging in the rapidly developing surgical and interventional management of severe chronic obstructive lung diseases. Enhanced by the advancements in hybrid imaging and computer processing, the VPS examination continues to be reinvented and updated to keep pace with the needs of modern medicine.