To be of aid to the thoracic surgeon the bronchoscopist must appreciate his problems and understand somewhat the principles of his surgery. I assume that today no thoracic surgeon works alone. I assume also that if he has not accepted Jackson's1 plea for teamwork, he has paid heed to Willy Meyer's2 endorsement:
Let all remember that the best results with the least mortality can be obtained by teamwork only; that is, if bacteriologist, internist and surgeon, roentgenologist and bronchoscopist cooperate, often for weeks and months, for the welfare of the patient.
Therefore, when surgical intervention is indicated, the patient has had the benefit of all the accepted conservative methods of therapy. His treatment has been medicinal, climatic, dietetic and drainage—both postural and bronchoscopic—without improvement. Too often the patient seeks the surgeon as a last resort.
The first problem of the thoracic surgeon, then, is the location of the abscess, for