• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.38 no.9 s.254
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• pp.627-632
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• 2005

Background: The video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) with 2 mm thoracoscopy in primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP) was known to be unreliable in its accuracy and recurrence rate. We compared 10 mm VATS with 2 mm VATS in the results of operation. Material and Method: From Sept. 1998 to Dec. 2002, 176 cases (10 mm VATS; 73 cases, 2 mm VATS; 103 cases) of PSP were treated by VATS blob resection at Korea University Ansan Hospital. 10 mm thoracoscope, 5 mm port, and 5 mm instruments were used in 10 mm VATS group, and 2 mm thoracoscope, 2 mm ports and 2 mm instruments used in 2 mn VATS group. In the two groups, staples were inserted through 11.5 mm port for chest tube. Result: The mean follow-up duration was 20,8$\pm$16.1 months in 10 mm VATS group, and 13.9 $\pm$8.2 months in 2 mm VATS. The most common indication of operation was a recurrent pneumothorax ($34\%$) in 10 mm VATS and patient's desire ($40\%$) in 2 mm VATS, respectively. The operation time, number of staples used in operation, postoperative chest tube keeping days, postoperative total amount of drainage, and postoperative hospitalization days were statistically lower in 2 mm VATS. Other significant variables affecting the operation time in linear regression analysis were the number of staples that used in operation, the presence of pleural adhesion, and type of pleurodesis and thoracoscope used in operation. However, $R^2$ values were lower than 0.1. The postoperative recurrence rate was $2.7\%$ in 10 mm VATS and $2.9\%$ in 2 mm VATS. It was not significant statistically. Recurrent cases developed within 1 year in both groups but the difference was statistically insignificant. Conclusion: Although there were differences in follow-up duration between two groups, the operation time, number of staples that used in operation, postoperative chest tube keeping days, postoperative total amount of drainage, and postoperative hospitalization days were statistically lower in 2 mm VATS. And in 2 mm VATS, there were no technical difficulties during operation and no differences in recurrence rate from 10 mm VATS. As a result, we suggest that 2 mm VATS can be used in the treatment of PSP.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.166-170
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• 2012

(VATS) lobectomy to junior surgeons, and to review the first year experience of a new surgeon performing VATS lobectomies who had not performed a VATS lobectomy unassisted during his training period. Materials and Methods: A young surgeon opened a division of general thoracic surgery at a medical institution. The surgeon had performed about 100 lobectomies via conventional thoracotomy during his training period, but had never performed a VATS lobectomy unassisted while under the supervision of an expert. After opening the division of general thoracic surgery, the surgeon performed a total of 38 pulmonary lobectomies for various pulmonary diseases from March 2009 to February 2010. All data were collected retrospectively. Results: There were 14 lobectomies via thoracotomy, 14 VATS lobectomies, and 10 cases of attempted VATS lobectomies that were converted to open thoracotomies. The number of VATS lobectomies increased from the second quarter (n=0) to the third quarter (n=5). The lobectomies that were converted from VATS into thoracotomies decreased from the second quarter (n=5) to the third quarter (n=1) (p=0.002). Conclusion: It can take 6 months for young surgeons without experience in VATS lobectomy in their training period to be able to reliably perform a VATS lobectomy.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.27 no.9
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• pp.779-784
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• 1994

Vidio-assisted thoracic surgery[VATS] has recently evolved as an alternative to thoracotomy for several thoracic disorders,and the role of thoracoscopy has expanded with advances in surgical techniques and instruments. From May 1993 to May 1994, 13 patients with mediastinal mass underwent VATS for diagnosis and treatment at Gil General Hospital. There were four males and nine females, and their ages raged from 5 years to 66 years with average 38.8 years. Among 13 patients, 3 were operated for tissue diagnosis,9 for treatment,and 1 for diagnosis and treatment. Pathologic diagnoses were as follows; 5 benign neurogenic tumors, 2 thymoma, 2 sarcoidosis, 1 teratoma, 1 peripheral neuroepithelioma, 1 tbc lymphadenitis, and 1 pericardial cyst. The mean time of operation was 111.7 $\pm$ 30.7 minutes[60-160], mean duration of chest tube drainage was 2.9 $\pm$1.9days[1-9], mean hospital stay was 6.2 $\pm$2.6 days[4-13]. There was no patient needed blood transfusion or conversion to open thoracotomy. Accurate diagnosis was possible in all patients operated for diagnosis and /or treatment.[4/4,100%] Two complications occurred in two patients: 1 transient Horner,s syndrome,1 anhydrosis of left arm. Compared with those of conventional thoracotomy done for mediastinal mass during previous 2 years[May 1991 - April 1993], operative results of VATS were better in all aspects. For mediastinal mass, we concluded that VATS can be done with less morbidity,less complication,less blood loss,shorter operation time and hospital stay,and not more expensive in cost than conventional thoracotomy. Noticeably, we think that VATS is the operation of choice for the diagnosis and palliation of malignant mediastinal mass.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.226-229
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• 1994

VATS is now used by many thoracic surgeons and in various anatomic locations such as lung parenchyme, pleura and mediastinum, etc. VATS of mediastinal masses has special characteristics compared to that of other diseases. Those are no positional changes of the mass during collapse of the lung and close proximity of the mass to major vascular structures, nerves and other vital organs. From 1992. July to 1993. August, 10 mediastinal masses were treated with video assisted thoracoscopy. There were five males and five females, ages ranged from 11 years to 65 years with average 37.7 17.7 years old. Of the 10 patients, 4 were bronchogenic cysts, 2 were teratoma, and the others were thymoma, neurilemmoma, pericardial cyst, and thymic cyst. Needle aspiration was done in large cysts and the working thoracotomy[or utility thoracotomy] was done in large solid masses for the purpose of easy dissection, easy handling and easy delivery of the mass. The average operation time were 155.6 6.8 minutes and the duration of air leakage were 1 2.2 days. The duration of the chest tube drainage were 3.3 2.6 days. The lengths of the postoperative hospitalization were 5.1 2.7 days which were shorter than those of 12 mediastinal masses treated with conventional thoracotomy during the same periods [p<0.05]. There was 1 patient converted to thoracotomy because of a bleeding at innominate vein. 3 postoperative complications were occured. Those were persistent air leakage for 7 days, diaphragmatic palsy and hoarseness which were recovered within 1 month. We conclude that mediastinal mass can be excised with video assisted thoracoscopy and the posthospitalization is reduced. But careful attention is required for avoiding injury to major vascular structures, nerves, and other vital organs.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.221-225
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• 1994

Video-assisted thoracic surgery[VATS] has recently evolved as an alternative to thoracotomy for several thoracic disorders. Between March 1993 and September 1993, 42 patients underwent VATS at Gil General Hospital. They were diagnosed as spontaneous pneumothorax in 34[81.0%], mediastinal mass in 5, congenital lobar emphysema in 1, traumatic hemothorax in 1, and sarcoidosis in 1. For pneumothorax, wedge resection of bullae or blebs was done in 18 patients, wedge resection and limited parietal pleulectomy in 13, and only pleulectomy in 2. And excision for mediastinal mass in 5, hematoma evacuation for chronic hemothorax in 1, biopsies of mediastinal lymph node and lung for confirming sarcoidosis in 1, and lobectomy of left upper lobe for congenital lobar emphysema in the child of 12 years. The period of chest tube drainage and postoperative hospitalization averaged 3.8 days [range, 1 to 11 days] and 5.9 days [range, 2 to 18 days]. Three complications occurred in 3 patients with pneumothorax [7.1%, 2 recurrent pneumothorax and 1 postoperative bleeding], and the conversion to open thoracotomy was done in 1 due to massive air leak. The causes of postoperative air leak were speculated and the techniques for saving expensive Endo-GIA staplers are described in this paper. VATS is safe and offers the benefits of reduced postoperative pain and rapid recovery. Our experience indicates a markedly expanded role for VATS in the diagnosis and treatment of various thoracic diseases.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.33 no.10
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• pp.812-816
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• 2000

Background ; To evaluate the efficacy of Fibrin glue to decrease recurrence in video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery(VATS) for a treatment of spontaneous penumothorax. Material and Method : All medical records of 17 patients who underwent a thoracoscopic wedge resections of bullae with stapling device with Fibrin glue in our institute between May 1998 and December 1999 were reviewed. variables analyzed include affected sites primary indication of VATS. duration from admission to discharge duration of postoperative stay duration of chest tube drainage recurrence and complication. There were 16 men and 1 woman. Result : There was no evidence of hemodynamic instability or arterial blood gas abnormalities encountered during the procedure. Mean age at the time of the VATS was 26.9 years (range 15 to 61 years) The mean duration from admission to discharge was 7.8 days and mean postoperative stay was 5.1days mean chest tube indwelling period was 4..0 days. There was no recurrence of pneumothorx. Conclusion : Thoracoscopic wedge resections with introduction of fibrin glue are safe and effective and requires only a short hospital stay. We believe that this thoracoscopic technique will further simplify the surgical treatment of pneumothorax.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.225-228
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• 2011

Background: Conventional treatment (i.e. chest tube insertion and chemical pleurodesis) still remains standard for patients with secondary spontaneous pneumothorax because the risk of surgical bullectomy is deemed high in this subset. However, it has been suggested that surgical treatment using thoracoscopy may expedite postoperative recovery and, thus, may reduce hospital stay. Materials and Methods: Retrospective review of 61 patients with secondary spontaneous pneumothorax, who underwent conventional treatment (n=39) or video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) (n=22) between January 2007 and December 2009, was performed. Talc was used for chemical pleurodesis in both groups. Results: Hospital stay of conventional treatment group and VATS group was $14.2{\pm}14.2$ days (4~58 days) and $10.6{\pm}5.8$ days (5~32 days), respectively, with statistically significant difference (p=0.033). Recurrence rate of conventional treatment group was also significantly higher (12/39, 30%) compared to VATS group (1/22, 4.5%) (p=0.016). Conclusion: In selected patients with secondary spontaneous pneumothorax with continuous air leak or inadequate lung expansion, thoracoscopic surgery with chemical pleurodesis using talc results in shorter hospital stay and lower recurrence rate compared to conventional approach.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.369-373
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• 1998

The bullectomy through the limited transaxillary thoracotomy and video-assisted thoracic surgery(VATS) had been used in operative management of spontaneous pneumothorax from Jan. 1994 to July 1997. The study comprised a retrospective review of 42 cases which were treated by limited thoracotomy, and 61 cases treated by video-assisted thoracoscopic sugery. We retrospectively reviewed annual incidnce of bullectomy. Analysis of video-assised thoracoscopic surgery and open bullectomy including age, sex, operative sites, surgical indications, associated diseases, operative time, posoperatve complications and hospital courses. There was no significant difference for operation time in two groups, 98.3${\pm}$38.4 minutes in thoracotomy and 95.7${\pm}$31.5 minutes in VATS. Prolonged air leakage over 7 days was observed in 8 cases from thoracotomy group, 4 cases from VATS group. 3 cases of recurrent pneumothorax were found from VATS group, but no recurrence was occurred from open bullectomy group. There were significant differences in postoperative hospital stay (8.0${\pm}$3.9 day in thoracotomy vs 5.9${\pm}$2.4day in VATS(P=0.001)), and indwelling period of chest tube after operation( 5.8${\pm}$3.0day in thoracotomy vs 4.0${\pm}$2.0day in VATS(P=0.0006)).

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.125-130
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• 2019

Background: To compare the outcomes of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) in comparison to open thoracic surgery in pediatric patients suffering from empyema. Methods: A prospective study was carried out in 80 patients referred to the Department of Pediatric Surgery between 2015 and 2018. The patients were randomly divided into thoracotomy and VATS groups (groups I and II, respectively). Forty patients were in the thoracotomy group (16 males [40%], 24 females [60%]; average age, $5.77{\pm}4.08years$) and 40 patients were in the VATS group (18 males [45%], 22 females [55%]; average age, $6.27{\pm}3.67years$). There were no significant differences in age (p=0.61) or sex (p=0.26). Routine preliminary workups for all patients were ordered, and the patients were followed up for 90 days at regular intervals. Results: The average length of hospital stay ($16.28{\pm}7.83days$ vs. $15.83{\pm}9.44days$, p=0.04) and the duration of treatment needed for pain relief (10 days vs. 5 days, p=0.004) were longer in the thoracotomy group than in the VATS group. Thoracotomy patients had surgical wound infections in 27.3% of cases, whereas no cases of infection were reported in the VATS group (p=0.04). Conclusion: Our results indicate that VATS was not only less invasive than thoracotomy, but also showed promising results, such as an earlier discharge from the hospital and fewer postoperative complications.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.189-192
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• 2014

Myelolipoma in the mediastinum is an extremely rare entity. In this report, we present the case of a 79-year-old asymptomatic man who had three bilateral paravertebral mediastinal tumors. The three tumors were resected simultaneously using bilateral three-port video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). There has been no evidence of recurrence within four years after the operation. Multiple bilateral mediastinal myelolipomas are extremely rare. There are no reports in the English literature of multiple bilateral thoracic myelolipomas that were resected simultaneously using bilateral VATS. We also present characteristic features of myelolipomas, which are helpful for diagnosis.