[Endoscopic surgery of pneumothorax]

Thoracoscopy was conducted in 223 patients with spontaneous and traumatic pneumothorax; 26 of them were treated by diathermal coagulation of the lungs, thoracic wall, and bleeding vessels, 34--by laser photocoagulation. Nd-laser with a wave length of 1.06 mcm was used as the source of laser radiation. The indications for thoracoscopy and the techniques of using laser radiation in thoracoscopy are described. Diathermal coagulation of the lung failed to produce an effect in 2 patients with spontaneous pneumothorax, laser photocoagulation was ineffective in 3 patients with spontaneous pneumothorax and in one patient with a knife injury of the right lung. Laser photocoagulation has advantages over diathermal coagulation.