[Spontaneous pneumothorax; to operate or not?]

Disagreement remains on the best mode of therapy for spontaneous pneumothorax (SP). Treatment options vary from observation alone to thoracotomy depending on the stage of the disease and the preference of the physician. Between 1983 and 1988, 122 patients with SP were treated at the Elisabeth Hospital Tilburg according to a fixed protocol. Of these patients 86 (68%) were primarily treated with observation alone or with intercostal tubes. Seven of these patients (8%) had to be treated surgically after failure of the primary treatment. After thoracoscopical selection and in case of recurrent disease 39 patients underwent surgery: apical pleurectomy and bullectomy, in most cases by the transaxillary approach. In this group morbidity was minimal and there were no recurrences. We conclude that for most patients with spontaneous pneumothorax non-surgical therapy is the therapy of first choice.