Videoendoscopic thoracic surgery

Personal experience of 42 videothoracoscopic operations is reported. From September 91 to May 92 we performed 10 major lung resections (1 pneumonectomy, 8 lobectomies, 1 segmentectomy) 9 wedge lung resections, 4 excisions of pulmonary bullae, 12 pleurectomies with or without apicectomy, 6 excisions of mediastinal masses (3 thymomas, 2 mediastinal cysts, 1 thoracic disembryoma), 1 removal of esophageal leiomyoma. No major complications occurred. Except for one patient submitted to bullectomy with pleurectomy who required a second thoracoscopy due to postoperative bleeding, all patients had excellent p.o. course. We describe technical details employed in different videothoracoscopic operations and discuss personal results and principles of videothoracoscopic approach. Different fields of videoendoscopic chest surgery are examined. Present data seem to advocate videothoracoscopic treatment for many thoracic diseases and also for major lung resections, due to its minimal trauma and little functional impairment. Nevertheless this still remains avant-garde surgery. Further improvement in endoscopic instrumentation is necessary and may lead to future extensions of videothoracoscopic surgical possibilities.