[Thoracoscopic resection of pleural tumor]

A thoracoscopic operation was safely performed for a case of a intrathoracic tumor. The patient was a 68-year-old male who had been treated for bronchial asthma and recurrent pneumonia. The reason for a successful operation were one-lung-ventilation under general anesthesia, the thoracoscopic electrocautery, the thoracoscopic ultrasonic surgical aspiration system, and thoracoscopic hemoclips. Pathologically the tumor was a benign mesothelioma. The patient was discharged without complications. In the treatment of intrathoracic benign diseases, thoracoscopic surgery is thought to be particularly useful to patients who are at high-risk in conventional thoracic operations due to accompanying respiratory diseases, as well as to patients requiring incisions as small as possible.