Simultaneous vs staged bilateral video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery

It is generally thought that simultaneous bilateral chest surgery carries a high morbidity. We reviewed the results of simultaneous (under one anesthesia) vs staged bilateral video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) from a single institution over a 35-month period. From September 1992 to July 1995, we performed simultaneous bilateral VATS on 37 patients (31 males, six females, age ranging from 15 to 55 years) with spontaneous pneumothorax (20) for bleb resections and pleurodesis; thoracodorsal sympathectomy (12) for palmar hyperhidrosis and vasospastic disease; and metastatic sarcomas (five) for wedge lung resections. During the same period, nine patients with metachronous bilateral spontaneous pneumothorax had staged procedures, as did two with digital ischemic ulcers for sympathectomy and three with metastatic pulmonary osteosarcomas for resection. Mean postoperative hospital stays in days for the simultaneous groups were 3.3 for spontaneous pneumothorax, 2.1 for sympathectomy, and 1.5 for wedge resection, compared to 2.9, 2.5, and 2.2 for the staged groups, respectively (p > 0.05 by Mann-Whitney U tests). Likewise, pain assessment by visual analogue scale as well as analgesic requirement showed no significant difference between the simultaneous and the staged groups. We conclude that simultaneous VATS is not associated with increased morbidity or prolonged hospital stay compared to the staged counterparts and provides an attractive alternative to the median sternotomy, bilateral posterolateral thoracotomy, or transternal (clam-shell) thoracotomy for selected cases of simultaneous bilateral lung surgery.