[Endoscopic transthoracic sympathectomy for angina pectoris: a case report]
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 31, 2026

Transaxillary First Rib Resection for Treatment of the Thoracic Outlet Syndrome
Published on: September 13, 2020
T Ushijima1, K Akemoto, K Kawakami
1Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, National Hospital of Kanazawa, Japan.
Abstract:
We performed endoscopic transthoracic sympathicotomy (ETS) for angina pectoris in a 77-year-old female. She had multiple coronary disease of a history of failed percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). Bilateral ETS of Th2 to Th5 was carried out under general anesthesia without surgical complication, hemodynamic change and ECG change. Postoperatively she was free from angina and increased working capacity. ST depression on ECG was remarkably improved and the increase of heart rate and systolic blood pressure was suppressed on exercise test after a month of ETS. The effect of ETS to angina pectoris was suspected not to relieve anginal pain but also to reduce myocardial oxygen demand on exercise. We conclude that ETS is a safe, simple and low invasive procedure and it can be done in patients who are judged unsuitable for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) or PTCA.
Related Concept Videos
Angina III: Clinical Manifestations and Assessment
Angina IV: Management
Angina II: Classification
Angina V: Nursing Management
