Mini-invasive video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) has been employed in diagnosis and treatment of esophageal diseases for about 10 years. The potential advantages of VATS over thoracotomy are reduction of chest pain just after the operation and in the long run, lower incidence of postoperative respiratory complications, and reduction of aesthetic sequelae. Thoracoscopic staging of esophageal cancer is to evaluate the invasion and metastasis of cancer, which is helpful for better selection of patients for appropriate treatment .Operation of esophageal cancer with VATS is prescribed mainly in the early stage of carcinoma, but it’s application is restricted due to the multiple sites of operation and complexity of procedures. VATS for benign esophageal diseases such as esophageal leiomyoma and achalasia is becoming the preferable choice of operation in qualified medical centers.
ObjectiveTo investigate the safety of endoscopic thoracic sympathicotomy in the treatment of primary hyperhidrosis based on ambulatory surgery mode.MethodsRetrospective analysis was performed on the clinical data of 158 patients with primary hyperhidrosis who received endoscopic thoracic sympathicotomy in the Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University from January 2019 to March 2021. There were 68 (43.2%) males and 90 (56.8%) females with an average age of 14-33 (20.5±3.1) years. The basic information of the patients, operation time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative pain score, hospitalization expenses and postoperative complications were observed and recorded.ResultsAll surgeries were successfully completed and the patients were discharged as planned. The operation time was 41.8±13.9 min, the intraoperative blood loss was 10.5±7.3 mL, the postoperative anesthesia recovery time was 15.0±5.9 min, and the pain score was 3.0±0.9 points. The total length of hospitalization was 1.6±1.0 days. The total postoperative expenses were 9 471.7±1 698.9 yuan. Pneumothorax occurred after the operation in 3 patients. Telephone follow-up on the 30th day after the operation showed no recurrence of sweaty hands, pneumothorax or rapid heart rate, and no serious complications or death related to the day operation within 30 days after the operation.ConclusionEndoscopic thoracic sympathicotomy based on ambulatory surgery mode is safe and effective in the treatment of primary hyperhidrosis.
Objective To investigate the effects of inflammatory reaction of thymomas with myasthenia gravis (MG) treated by traditional thoracotomy and minimally invasive surgery. Methods A total of 40 thymomas patients (Mssaoka Ⅰ or Ⅱ) with myasthenia gravis from August 2014 to June 2015 were treated by traditional thoracotomy (n=20) or video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (n=20). The serum levels of IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α, CRP and CORT were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) methods at before anesthesia (T1), after anesthesia (T2), 2 h after skin cut (T3), 24 h post-operation (T4), 48 h post-operation (T5) and 72 h post-operation (T6) respectively. Perioperative parameters were also reported. The statistics analysis was performed by SPSS 17.0 software. Results The serum levels of IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α, CRP and CORT had no significant difference between T1 and T2, T2 and T3 (allP value>0.05) in both groups. But the serum levels of these factors after operation were obviously higher than that of before operation, commonly the highest level was reached at T4 (allP value>0.01), and also was higher at T6 than that of before the operation (allP value<0.01), except the level of TNF-α recovered rapidly to the level of before operation (allP value>0.05) in the VATS group. The operation time, postoperative drainage tube indwelling time and incision healing time in the VATS were lower than that in the control group (allP value<0.05). Conclusion VATS could be widely applied in clinical practice with lowering operative trauma and reducing the degree of inflammatory reaction.
ObjectiveTo explore the surgical procedures for primary spontaneous pneumothorax without bullae. MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 52 patients with primary spontaneous pneumothorax without bullae, who underwent surgical treatment in Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University between January 2008 and January 2013. There were 46 males and 6 females, with mean average age of 23.2±4.3 years (ranged from 16 to 34 years). According to the different methods of intraoperative surgery, all patients were divided into three groups. The patients in a group Ⅰ (n=20) underwent video-assisted thoracoscope (VATS) selective apex of low energy electric coagulation treatment. The patients in a group Ⅱ (n=21) underwent VATS lung tip part of lung resection. The patients in a group Ⅲ (n=11) received VATS resection of the pleura. The clinical effectiveness among the three groups was compared. ResultsCompared with other two kinds of operation schemes,the leak duration(2.61±1.89 d vs. 4.90±3.20 d vs. 5.36±2.57 d, P=0.012), postoperative chest tube drainage time (3.67±2.13 d vs. 6.00±3.73 d vs. 7.03±2.58 d, P=0.003), postoperative length of hospital stay (4.95±2.16 d vs. 7.35±3.03 d vs. 8.61±2.67 d, P=0.002) and the recurrence rate (0.0% vs. 23.1% vs. 12.5%, P=0.021) of the patients with lung tip part resection of lung tissue by VATS were significantly lower. There were no statistically significant differences in the indicators of the patients with selective apex of low energy electric coagulation by VATS and those with pleural resection by VATS (P>0.05). ConclusionLung tip part of the lung tissue resection by VATS for primary spontaneous pneumothorax without bullae is better than VATS selective apical low energy coagulation treatment and VATS resection of the pleura both in the short and long-term efficacy.
ObjectiveTo compare the short-term clinical effects of Da Vinci robot-assisted thoracic surgery (RATS) and video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) in the treatment of posterior mediastinal tumors, and to explore the advantages of RATS posterior mediastinal tumor resection. MethodsThe clinical data of patients who underwent posterior mediastinal tumors resection through the lateral chest approach admitted to the same medical group in the Department of Thoracic Surgery of the First Hospital of Lanzhou University between January 2019 to January 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. According to the different surgical methods, the patients were divided into a RATS group and a VATS group. The clinical data were compared between the two groups. ResultsA total of 85 patients were included in this study. There were 39 patients in the RATS group, including 25 females and 14 males, with an average age of 47.6±13.0 years, and 46 patients in the VATS group, including 14 males and 32 females, with an average age of 45.3±14.7 years. All patients completed the operation successfully. The hospitalization cost in the RATS group was significantly higher than that in the VATS group (P<0.001), and the white blood cell count and neutrophilic granulocyte percentage on the first day after operation in the RATS group were lower than those in the VATS group, and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). The operative time, intraoperative bleeding, postoperative hospital stay, white blood cell count and neutrophil percentage on the third postoperative day, visual analogue scale score on the first and third postoperative days, duration of analgesic pump use, postoperative 12 h oxygen saturation (no oxygen inhalation), postoperative down bed time, total thoracic drainage volume, duration of drainage tube retention, and postoperative complication rates were not statistically different between the two groups (P>0.05). There was no perioperative death, conversion to thoracotomy or serious perioperative complications in both groups. ConclusionRATS resection of posterior mediastinal tumor via lateral thoracic approach is safe and feasible, and its short-term effect is similar to that of VATS via lateral thoracic single-hole approach. It is worth further comparative study to explore its benefit and cost performance.
Abstract： Objective To explore the method and effect of single utility port video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery （VATS） for the treatment of pulmonary diseases. Methods From Jan. 2008 to Jun. 2010, 158 patients with pulmonary diseases were treated by single working pore VATS in the Department of Thoracic Surgery of West China Hospital, Sichuan University. Their diseases included 6 kinds of different lesions, such as pneumothorax（inflammatory pseudotumor, hamartoma, lymphangiomyomatosis） , lung tuberculoma, and lung carcinoma. Seventy patients had definite diagnosis before their operation, and the others had their final diagnosis by intraoperative frozen section evaluation and postoperative pathology examination. All the resections were carried out by pure thoracoscopic procedures with two ports, one working pore and one observing pore. A 28-Fr chest tube was placed to the pleural apex. Limited lung resection was performed in 151 patients, single lobectomy in 7 patients, and simultaneous bilateral operation in 6 patients. Results For limited lung resection patients, the average operation time was 18 （5-60） min, and the average blood loss was 33 （5-95） ml. No patient needed intraoperative blood transfusion . Ten patients received an increased pore, including 6 patients with pleural cavity obliteration or abundant pleural adhesions, and 4 patients with intraoperative bleeding . The average postoperative length of stay was 2.5 （2-4） days, and the average medical cost was 17 884 （15 476-25 387） Yuan. For patients undergoing lobectomy and lymph node dissection, the average operation time was 128 （50-220） min, and the average blood loss was 180 （80-478） ml. No patient needed intraoperative blood transfusion. One patient received an increased pore. The average postoperative length of stay was 4.7 （4-7） days, and the average medical cost was 42 385 （38 965-57 695） Yuan. No perioperative death or severe complications were observed in present series. Conclusion Single utility port VATS is a safe and efficient procedure with good patient recovery. It is a method of choice for selected patients with pulmonary diseases.
Emphysema is a chronic progressive disease characterized by abnormal terminal bronchioles. Patients in end-stage have limited treatment. Lung volume reduction surgery(LVRS) is to remove the non-functional emphysematous lung tissue with the aim of palliating symptoms in selected patient with severe emphysema. It provides a new therapeutic method for emphysema. When LVRS is widely accepted after 1990s, a large number of institutions carried out the researches on surgical approaches, perioperative mortality, long-term efficacy and complications. Its targeted beneficial patients and surgical safety had been confirmed too. Bronchoscopic lung volume reduction (BLVR) successfully carried out on the basis of the development of LVRS and bronchoscopy. This article reviews the surgical approaches, safety and efficacy of LVRS and BLVR in patients with emphysema.
ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of multi-sided foramen ultrafine drainage tube with metal support on the formation of thoracic residual cavity after uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic (VATS) upper lobectomy. MethodsThe clinical data of the patients who underwent uniportal VATS upper lobectomy for lung cancer in the Department of Thoracic Surgery of the First Hospital of Lanzhou University from January 2021 to April 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. According to the type of ultrafine drainage tube used in the surgery, the patients were divided into a test group (using metal-supported multi-sided foramen ultrafine drainage tube) and a control group (using ordinary 12F ultrafine drainage tube). The incidence of postoperative thoracic residual cavity and operation-related data were compared between the two groups. ResultsA total of 200 patients were enrolled, including 126 males and 74 females, with a mean age of 57.52 years. There were 90 patients in the test group, and 110 patients in the control group. The incidence of postoperative thoracic residual cavity in the test group was lower than that in the control group (P=0.045). The differences in the postoperative bedtime, postoperative visual analogue scale, postoperative analgesic pump using time, postoperative hospitalization time, times of postoperative thoracentration and drainage, postoperative drainage time and hospitalization cost between the two groups were statistically significant (P<0.05). The incidences of postoperative lung infection, pleural effusion and atelectasis complications were lower in the test group than those in the control group (P<0.05). The differences in the preoperative anesthesia time, operation time, intraoperative bleeding and postoperative lung leakage were not statistically significant (P>0.05). ConclusionThe use of multi-sided foramen ultrafine drainage tube with metal support can reduce the incidence of thoracic residual cavity after uniportal VATS upper lobectomy, and can reduce pain and economical burdens and the incidence of operation-related complications, accelerating the recovery of patients after surgery. The application of multi-sided foramen ultrafine drainage tube with metal support in uniportal VATS upper lobectomy can be widely used in the clinic.
Abstract： Currently, there are two significant tendencies in the advancement and progress of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery（VATS）, firstly, the widening surgical indications for VATS techniques, and secondly, the use of single-port VATS which is less invasive and more cosmetic. This article focuses in particular on four aspects of single-port VATS, including；（1）the individualized incision approach and its characteristics of single-port VATS；（2）single-port VATS for the treatment of pneumothorax and the development of related techniques and equipment；（3）single-port VATS for the diagnosis and treatment of thoracic diseases such as lung lobectomy；（4）the advantages and disadvantages of single-port VATS in clinical practice.
ObjectiveTo discuss the safety and feasibility of no chest tube (NCT) after thoracoscopic pneumonectomy.MethodsThe online databases including PubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), WanFang Database, VIP, China Biology Medicine disc (CBMdisc) were searched by computer from inception to October 2020 to collect the research on NCT after thoracoscopic pneumonectomy. Two reviewers independently screened the literature, extracted the data, and evaluated the quality of the included studies. The RevMan 5.3 software was used for meta-analysis.ResultsA total of 17 studies were included. There were 12 cohort studies and 5 randomized controlled trials including 1 572 patients with 779 patients in the NCT group and 793 patients in the chest tube placement (CTP) group. Meta–analysis results showed that the length of postoperative hospital stay in the NCT group was shorter than that in the CTP group (SMD=–1.23, 95%CI –1.59 to –0.87, P<0.000 01). Patients in the NCT group experienced slighter pain than those in the CTP group at postoperative day (POD)1 (SMD=–0.97, 95%CI –1.42 to –0.53, P<0.000 1), and POD2 (SMD=–1.10, 95%CI –2.00 to –0.20, P=0.02), while no statistical difference was found between the two groups in the visual analogue scale of POD3 (SMD=–0.92, 95%CI –1.91 to 0.07, P=0.07). There was no statistical difference in the 30-day complication rate (RR=0.93, 95%CI 0.61 to 1.44, P=0.76), the rate of postoperative chest drainage (RR=1.51, 95%CI 0.68 to 3.37, P=0.31) or the rate of thoracocentesis (RR=2.81, 95%CI 0.91 to 8.64, P=0.07) between the two groups. No death occurred in the perioperative period in both groups.ConclusionIt is feasible and safe to omit the chest tube after thoracoscopic pneumonectomy for patients who meet the criteria.