Uniportal VATS for pneumothorax and interstitial lung disease

The algorithms for the management of primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP) consider the surgical approach as the recommended treatment after the first recurrent episode. Surgical lung biopsy should be performed in order to reach the specific diagnostic definition in case of interstitial lung disease (ILD). The uniportal video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) has been proposed as an innovative minimally invasive approach for performing the optimal surgical management in both PSP and ILD. The aim of the present review is to describe and discuss this operative technique, as a valuable option for treating the above-mentioned thoracic diseases. To this purpose, we herein describe the theoretical and practical aspects of the uniportal VATS technique (with the support of two specific videos) and review the literature inherent to the use of this approach for managing PSP and ILD, demonstrating that this is a well defined and standardized surgical technique for performing several intra-thoracic operation and, particularly, an effective approach for treating PSP and for managing patients affected by ILD.