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Lung sealing using the tissue-welding technology in spontaneous pneumothorax
Oleksandr Linchevskyy1, Anatoliy Makarov, Vadym Getman
1Clinical Hospital # 17, Kyiv, Ukraine. menimozhna@ukr.net
Summary
Radio-frequency tissue welding offers an effective, non-resectional approach for spontaneous pneumothorax, sealing lung tissue without conventional devices. This VATS procedure efficiently ablates bullae and repairs air leaks with minimal complications.
Area of Science:
- Thoracic Surgery
- Minimally Invasive Procedures
- Pulmonary Medicine
Background:
- Spontaneous pneumothorax management often involves resectional surgery.
- Existing methods may require staplers, sutures, or glues for lung sealing.
- Radio-frequency tissue welding presents a novel alternative for pulmonary tissue sealing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of radio-frequency tissue welding for bullae ablation in spontaneous pneumothorax.
- To assess the outcomes of a non-resectional approach using tissue welding via video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS).
Main Methods:
- A series of 133 consecutive patients with primary spontaneous pneumothorax underwent VATS.
- Radio-frequency tissue welding technology with a bipolar hand-piece was used for bullae electroablation and lung sealing.
- Conventional apical pleural abrasion was performed in all patients; chest tubes were removed 48 hours postoperatively.
Main Results:
- Lung sealing was successfully achieved in all cases using only tissue welding, without additional devices.
- Operating time did not exceed 65 minutes.
- A low rate of postoperative air leakage (4.5%) and recurrence (5.2%) was observed, with no mortality or major morbidity.
Conclusions:
- Tissue welding is an efficient and easy-to-perform VATS procedure for bullae ablation of all sizes.
- It provides leak-proof sealing, serving as a non-resectional alternative to wedge resection for pulmonary-pleural fistulas.
- This technique eliminates the need for conventional wound-closing devices.
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