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[Video thoracoscopy in the diagnosis of pleural effusions]
1Divisione A di Chirurgia Generale, Azienda Ospedaliera Ospedale S. Anna, Como.
Background:
At present video thoracoscopy is a primary diagnostic procedure in the diagnosis of pleural diseases, particularly when pleural effusions have unknown origin.
Methods:
In this article the personal experience is reported about 20 patients in which video thoracoscopy was very important in the diagnosis of pleural effusions.
Results:
Thoracoscopy permits to explore the thoracic cavity and to do a lot of biopsies. Video thoracoscopy, made it possible to diagnose 10 cases of malignant mesothelioma, 2 cases of pleural metastases (renal mts and mammary mts) and 8 cases of inflammatory diseases.
Conclusions:
At last, is laid on the contribution of video thoracoscopy to determine the stage of malignant mesothelioma.