[Results, complications and controlled after-care in thoracoscopic pleural and lung biopsy]

Report on 546 transthoracic forceps biopsies from pleura and lung, selected under thoracoscopic observation. After inducing a diagnostic pneumothorax the biopsy is performed in general anaesthesia with a forceps introduced beside the thoracoscope. In 60%, the endoscopic-bioptic examination resulted in a definitive diagnosis. In the remaining cases too, the results of biopsy were usefull for further diagnostic and clinical conclusions. The number of complications is small. Main risks are bleeding, tension pneumothorax, and cutaneous emphysema. In diseases of pleura and in cases of disseminated small-size lung processes, the method permits in a high proportion a corroborated diagnosis.