[Application of thoracoscopy in the diagnosis of pleuro-pulmonary disease]

Thoracoscopic examination was performed in 20 cases of pleuro-pulmonary diseases of uncertain etiology, 16 patients (80%) obtained positive thoracoscopic biopsy results while 4 false negative. Needle pleural biopsy was carried out in 10 cases and four of them gave correct diagnosis. After thoracoscopy thoracotomy were performed in 7 cases and all lesions were resected. Thirteen cases with advanced tumor or benign pleural diseases were treated conservatively. It was concluded that thoracoscopy is as an important technique in diagnosis of pleuro-pulmonary diseases.